Carlos Alcaraz, A’ja Wilson and Kylian Mbappé are cover stars!
The three athletes got their own covers for Vanity Fair‘s first dedicated global sports issue that explores “sport’s cultural, financial, and political influence at a time where it has emerged as one of the few forces still capable of commanding global, cross-generational attention,” per the outlet.
See the three covers and some highlights from their interviews inside…
Carlos Alcaraz, on being wary of being consumed by the sport:
“I’m aware that I have so much ahead of me, and I try not to think that I have 12 or 15 years left of my career because I get overwhelmed.”
On why he stepped away from competition due to injury:
“There’s been times in which I didn’t stop to take a break and that led to me not playing well, or becoming injured, or… Let’s just leave it at that, that it didn’t end well.”
On criticism that others have had about his lifestyle choices:
“Well, I think that nowadays we have to be way more careful with what we say, and what we do, but at the end of the day, we’re just human, you know?”
On his rivalry with Jannik Sinner:
“We’re showing the world that we can be on court and give our best, and try to do the most possible damage to the other while playing, try to beat each other, and then, off court, just be two guys who get along really well.”
On comparisons to the sport’s past rivalries:
“It’s not comparable to the historic rivalries that have happened in tennis, because we both have so many years ahead. Hopefully, we will continue playing against each other many times, at many finals, and that we will split the greatest tournaments.”
On the intensity of the tennis calendar and its impact on mental health:
“I think it’s just as important, or more, than taking care of your body. There’s people who are, fairly so, obsessed with body aesthetics, but to me it’s just as important to take care of your head.”
A’ja Wilson, on her ambition: “I want to prove that I’m the best. That allows me to have a great trophy case. It allows me to get rings. And it allows me to just play with peace.”
On the Las Vegas Aces’ transformation after relocating:
“When we moved, it was like, Oh, this is how professional athletes should be taken care of. Not just female or male—professional athletes, period.”
On resetting after the season:
“I put my shoes away. I get my long nails. This makes sure I cannot touch a basketball.”
On the growing financial arms race reshaping the WNBA:
“One thing about people with big wallets is when they see someone [else] with a big wallet and doing something, they’re like, ‘Wait, we got to do something about that.’?”
On her relationship with Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo:
“We just wanted to make sure that we were secure in ourselves, our relationship, and our foundation. People know more than they knew before, but it’s still a situation that we hold really close to us only because this world is nasty.”
Kylian Mbappé on the pressure:
“It’s difficult to be in a situation like ours, where everyone expects us to perform miracles. But miracles only happen on the pitch—we don’t need to play the match before the match.”
On the scrutiny national players have faced from the French public about their diverse heritage:
“We’re French! A French person loves to complain. A French person loves being unhappy. We’re just French. So French people judging French people—that’s what you get. A French person is happiest when they’re not happy, I believe. Because it’s true—we criticize everything. And I say we because I’m like that too!”
On being vocal about politics as an athlete:
“We are citizens, and we couldn’t just sit there and tell ourselves everything is going to be fine and go play. We truly try to fight this idea that a footballer should shut up and play.” “People sometimes think that because you have money, because you’re famous, that kind of problem doesn’t affect you. But it affects me, because I know what it means, and what kind of consequences it can have for my country when those kinds of people [the right-wing National Rally party] take control.”
On scrutiny:
“It’s cool. Of course, it’s hard, because you have this feeling of no longer belonging to yourself—of belonging to everyone. But at the same time, it’s a life we chose. Maybe not to this degree, but we chose it nonetheless. We signed up for this.”
On growing up in the spotlight:
“I haven’t always handled this situation extremely well, because I became famous very young. And so I didn’t have the wisdom, the open-mindedness, or the empathy to sometimes put myself in people’s shoes and understand that sometimes they’ll only ever see me once—they’ll never see me again except on TV. So I try to have a little more empathy now, even if sometimes people push the limits.”
For more from all the athletes, head to VanityFair.com.
Posted To:A’ja Wilson Bam Adebayo Carlos Alcaraz Jannik Sinner Kylian Mbappe Sports Tennis Vanity Fair WNBA
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