Shortly after the tennis star debuted his fresh buzzcut during his first match at the 2025 U.S. Open on Aug. 25, he revealed the lighthearted reason behind the short look.
“Well, I guess I need anything fresh to start a tournament as well as I can,” Carlos, 22, told reporters in a post-game interview, per The Tennis Letter. “And I think the U.S. Open suits me pretty well.”
Indeed, the Spanish athlete—who became the youngest player to win the U.S. Open title in 2022—waited until his latest match against Reilly Opelka to go bold with his hair. After all, he competed in the tournament’s mixed doubles on Aug. 19 with his signature floppy, yet tapered cut. While he and teammate Emma Raducanu lost that game, he scored a solo win in his face-off with Reilly.
Following his dramatic hair transformation, several athletes—including fellow tennis star Frances Tiafoe—didn’t hold back their opinions on Carlos’ look.
“I mean, it’s definitely terrible,” Frances, 27, joked to reporters that same day. “He’s my guy though. It’s funny. I looked at him and I was like, I guess you’re aerodynamic. Yeah, I don’t know who told him that it’s good. I don’t know who told him to do that, but it’s terrible.”
He continued his feedback, “From a guy who gets haircuts week in, week out, and prides myself on good haircuts, it’s horrendous.”
And it seems Carlos’ family gave him the greenlight on his new cut. In fact, the 22-time ATP Tour singles champion revealed that one of his brothers gave him the polarizing look by accident.
“My brother misunderstood with the machine he cut it,” Carlos explained in another post-match interview. “And the only way to fix it is to shave it off.”
Though he didn’t share what style he was originally aiming for, he still gave his siblings their flowers for trying to execute his vision.
“To be honest, it’s not that good,” he added, before quickly correcting himself. “It’s not that bad, I guess.”
Keep reading to see more stars who have turned heads with their hair transformations…