Alcaraz Rune Sinner won’t have name popularity

Fairhit said:
I love I'm Colombia and I have met many men named Rafael, not one is called Rafi, just Rafael in formal situations and Rafa to friends, the same that happened to Nadal, Rafa is just the way we call any Rafael.
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In the late 80s & 90s, I never heard Mexicans named Rafael, called Rafa ever. Even some Black Americans named Rafael were never called Rafa. I'm not arguing to argue. My experience in all of L.A. is what it is.
 
a10best said:
In the late 80s & 90s, I never heard Mexicans named Rafael, called Rafa ever. Even some Black Americans named Rafael were never called Rafa. I'm not arguing to argue. My experience in all of L.A. is what it is.
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Fair enough but, keep in mind that you are talking about people living in the USA, for the rest of hispanic people of the world, any Rafael is called Rafa since forever and tht´s exctly the case with Nadal. It is differente for us than for people living in other culture like USA even if they have hispanic roots.
 
Fairhit said:
Fair enough but, keep in mind that you are talking about people living in the USA, for the rest of hispanic people of the world, any Rafael is called Rafa since forever and tht´s exctly the case with Nadal. It is differente for us than for people living in other culture like USA even if they have hispanic roots.
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That's maybe what I meant.
 
a10best said:
In the late 80s & 90s, I never heard Mexicans named Rafael, called Rafa ever. Even some Black Americans named Rafael were never called Rafa. I'm not arguing to argue. My experience in all of L.A. is what it is.
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Rafael Ruelas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I am a Spanish, or, as they say in the USA, a Spaniard.

Rafael has been, is, and will be as common a name as Roberto throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
 
I get cramps said:

Rafael Ruelas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

I am a Spanish, or, as they say in the USA, a Spaniard.

Rafael has been, is, and will be as common a name as Roberto throughout the Spanish-speaking world.
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Cool. but it doesn't change that I didn't hear "Rafa" until Nadal. I didn't know many Rafael's nor did latinos I knew OR obviously I would have heard Rafa.
Most mexicans (latinos) want to be called something macho or masculino. With an "A" at the end of a name sounds feminina. de veras? si'. pari mi.
Is the guy going to become Rafaela?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_(given_name) - and there Rafi as I said. Gracias y obrigado.

Nickname(s)Rafe, Rafi, Raph & Rapha

On that page look at all the sports stars named Rafael from different countries. I bet you very few used the nickname Rafa growing up.
I heard Rafi or Rafe used maybe from middle eastern guys named Raphael or Rafael.

Why is this still being discussed as if it's important? It is what it is.
 
Last edited:
Google this. Is Rafa a common nickname for Rafael?
"Rafa is mainly considered a nickname for the Spanish Rafael, and has never made an appearance on the U.S. popularity charts as an independently given name. The masculine name Rafa is therefore rare as a stand-alone name in the United States."


Rafael Name Meaning​

NameChef
https://www.namechef.co › rafael-name-meaning
Rafael is a boy's name. Common Nicknames. Raf, Rafa, Rafe, Raffy. Variations. Raphael. Pronunciation. rah-fiy
 
nachiket nolefam said:
Alcaraz is Nadal level hypebale player.

There are many players who can be hyped by media but apart from Alcaraz none of them even comes close to Djokovic.

There is none of the youngsters who can come close to Roger Federer in terms of popularity. Roger is once in 30 years player.
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agree. style plays a big role. like you said alcaraz has a dynamic and explosive game...but nothing stands out the way nadal did. the crazy buggy whip forehand, insane topspin, "distinct attire" let's say...he really stood out even for a non-tennis fan whereas i think your average sports fan could appreciate alcaraz's game, but it doesn't quite leave the same lasting impression as nadal did.
 
mental midget said:
agree. style plays a big role. like you said alcaraz has a dynamic and explosive game...but nothing stands out the way nadal did. the crazy buggy whip forehand, insane topspin, "distinct attire" let's say...he really stood out even for a non-tennis fan whereas i think your average sports fan could appreciate alcaraz's game, but it doesn't quite leave the same lasting impression as nadal did.
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Do you not see Nadal's shadow in Alcaraz? The way he fist pumps, jumping at the coin toss, and incredible foot speed running end to end. I think he is very much standing out from the rest.
 
nachiket nolefam said:
Do you not see Nadal's shadow in Alcaraz? The way he fist pumps, jumping at the coin toss, and incredible foot speed running end to end. I think he is very much standing out from the rest.
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sure but...nadal already did that. my point is uniqueness. nadal was a one-off from the start. same w roger. alcaraz? bits and pieces of stuff i've seen before. no slight to his talent btw, just my observation.

borg had his looks and metronomic efficiency.
mac...pretty self-evident how different he was.
pete, that serve, the jumping overheads etc.
agassi, half-volleying every groundstroke, seemingly.
becker, edberg, etc...for all these players they had a 'thing', or several. just not sure atm what carlos's is, in a way that stands out even to the casual observer. he is a superb shotmaker though, maybe in time that will continue to get traction. don't get me wrong--i think he's the best player on the planet right now.
 
Benf15harp3000 said:
unfortunately, Carlos or Alcaraz, Holger or Rune(ah) Jannik or Sinner names just don’t have any POP as a Roger or Fed(erer) Rafa or Nadal or Pete or Andre Borg Johnny Mac etc
Novak lacks it as well and he not nearly as popular as his rivals.
Jordan Kobe Lebron etc hell L James has been playing for 20 years and still carries the NBA
So despite being great you need a great name and the next “big 3” just don’t have it.
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I agree w/general sentiment but "Carlos Alcaraz" is a very cool name.

"Sinner" is cool but an Italian first name would be better.
mental midget said:
sure but...nadal already did that. my point is uniqueness. nadal was a one-off from the start. same w roger. alcaraz? bits and pieces of stuff i've seen before. no slight to his talent btw, just my observation.

borg had his looks and metronomic efficiency.
mac...pretty self-evident how different he was.
pete, that serve, the jumping overheads etc.
agassi, half-volleying every groundstroke, seemingly.
becker, edberg, etc...for all these players they had a 'thing', or several. just not sure atm what carlos's is, in a way that stands out even to the casual observer. he is a superb shotmaker though, maybe in time that will continue to get traction. don't get me wrong--i think he's the best player on the planet right now.
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Like bands, you have to see these guys live. You won't appreciate how hard Alcaraz or Musetti or Sinner are really hitting the ball until you see and hear it up close.

Alcaraz' inventiveness is what sets him apart. It's not one shot but rather how he uses all of them and how well he moves.

Speaking of names...the best name, bar none, is...Lorenzo Musetti.

Rolls right off the tongue and you can fake an Italian accent on it very easily. It's the best.
 
In fact Rune has great full name .
When I was child, not even football (remained to this day anti fan:D) fan I thought Karl Heinz Rummenigge is the most coolest name for athlete. It sounded so melodic to me
 
mental midget said:
just not sure atm what carlos's is, in a way that stands out even to the casual observer. he is a superb shotmaker though, maybe in time that will continue to get traction. don't get me wrong--i think he's the best player on the planet right now.
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He’s a showman!
 
a10best said:
Cool. but it doesn't change that I didn't hear "Rafa" until Nadal. I didn't know many Rafael's nor did latinos I knew OR obviously I would have heard Rafa.
Most mexicans (latinos) want to be called something macho or masculino. With an "A" at the end of a name sounds feminina. de veras? si'. pari mi.
Is the guy going to become Rafaela?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raphael_(given_name) - and there Rafi as I said. Gracias y obrigado.

Nickname(s)Rafe, Rafi, Raph & Rapha

On that page look at all the sports stars named Rafael from different countries. I bet you very few used the nickname Rafa growing up.
I heard Rafi or Rafe used maybe from middle eastern guys named Raphael or Rafael.

Why is this still being discussed as if it's important? It is what it is.
Click to expand...

For any proper hispanic (not Mexican American or whatever) Rafi sounds **** AF south of the Rio grande. You would be a laughing stock with that nickname.

Rafaela is not a common Hispanic name. It's Italian (Rafaella). If your nickname is Rafa, it's implied you are a guy in the Spanish speaking world.
 
Benf15harp3000 said:
unfortunately, Carlos or Alcaraz, Holger or Rune(ah) Jannik or Sinner names just don’t have any POP as a Roger or Fed(erer) Rafa or Nadal or Pete or Andre Borg Johnny Mac etc
Novak lacks it as well and he not nearly as popular as his rivals.
Jordan Kobe Lebron etc hell L James has been playing for 20 years and still carries the NBA
So despite being great you need a great name and the next “big 3” just don’t have it.
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lol.

God we need RG to start. These threads…
 
they don’t have the abilities of the Big 3 at their peaks. Which is a problem. Usually the new gen has to be better than the previous one or way more dominant to keep the popularity going at least. The big 3 dominated in such a way it’s just hard to follow. It’s following a car jacking with jaywalking. I’m sure all 3 kids will have great careers but it just won’t reach the heights of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic


But maybe it will be ok. I haven’t seen anyone come close to Jordan’s ability but the NBA is still very popular
 
crimson87 said:
For any proper hispanic (not Mexican American or whatever) Rafi sounds **** AF south of the Rio grande. You would be a laughing stock with that nickname.

Rafaela is not a common Hispanic name. It's Italian (Rafaella). If your nickname is Rafa, it's implied you are a guy in the Spanish speaking world.
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So not Mexican American, not mexican, not Cuban, not Puerto Rican, not Guatemalan...
You know there's slang other hispanic countries have no idea of the word of the phrase. Slang is regional and Rafa nickname as described in Wikipedia is not common in North America and likely not central america.
Yes, Rafaella is Italian and Brazilian. google Rafaela brasil and see a gorgeous picture.
 
Sampras-Bruguera 1993 said:
they don’t have the abilities of the Big 3 at their peaks. Which is a problem. Usually the new gen has to be better than the previous one or way more dominant to keep the popularity going at least. The big 3 dominated in such a way it’s just hard to follow. It’s following a car jacking with jaywalking. I’m sure all 3 kids will have great careers but it just won’t reach the heights of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic


But maybe it will be ok. I haven’t seen anyone come close to Jordan’s ability but the NBA is still very popular
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Right it will be impossible to follow them up but Jordan was at least followed by Kobe and Lebron and ratings are still down.
 
Rune will be the most talked-about #1 of all-time, because he's got a unique personality to go along with unmatched natural ability.
Federer would have been twice as well-known if he had Rune's personality.
And people can see that Rune is genuine, unlike the the fakest "personality" in tennis Kyrgios.
 
Sampras-Bruguera 1993 said:
they don’t have the abilities of the Big 3 at their peaks. Which is a problem. Usually the new gen has to be better than the previous one or way more dominant to keep the popularity going at least. The big 3 dominated in such a way it’s just hard to follow. It’s following a car jacking with jaywalking. I’m sure all 3 kids will have great careers but it just won’t reach the heights of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic


But maybe it will be ok. I haven’t seen anyone come close to Jordan’s ability but the NBA is still very popular
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Kralingen thinks that Lebron is up to him.
What do you think of that?
:unsure:
 
Benf15harp3000 said:
1. CA has said many times he doesn’t like being called Carlos and prefers Carlito or Charlie. I don’t see Nike selling those names …he will be popular due to a complete lack of competition for the next few years at least. Nike should go HEAVY on “bone crusher” for him.
2. Holger just isn’t sellable
3. No way Nike puts “Sinner” on merch and he has the personality of a tree stump.
4. It’s likely Nike will let the last two go sooner than later as no one in the world is going to be like “I wanna wear Jannik’s line with a carrot top logo or anything Holger is wearing.
5. The point here is that atp and Nike need sellable stars and at best only Carlito is sellable and that’s by default ….
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Winning changes everything huh?
 
big ted said:
all depends on how nike markets them ?
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I wouldn't expect much from Nike.

Carlos is 20 years old. The youngest multi slam champion that we've had in years.

And their response to him winning his second grand slam title is to let him wear Rafa's unused 2023 US Open kit.

Come on Nike! You'll dish out that Osaka crap like crazy...but Carlos doesn't even get his own outfit.
 
Benf15harp3000 said:
unfortunately, Carlos or Alcaraz, Holger or Rune(ah) Jannik or Sinner names just don’t have any POP as a Roger or Fed(erer) Rafa or Nadal or Pete or Andre Borg Johnny Mac etc
Novak lacks it as well and he not nearly as popular as his rivals.
Jordan Kobe Lebron etc hell L James has been playing for 20 years and still carries the NBA
So despite being great you need a great name and the next “big 3” just don’t have it.
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OK, but please provide scientific proof about this.
 
CHillTennis said:
I wouldn't expect much from Nike.

Carlos is 20 years old. The youngest multi slam champion that we've had in years.

And their response to him winning his second grand slam title is to let him wear Rafa's unused 2023 US Open kit.

Come on Nike! You'll dish out that Osaka crap like crazy...but Carlos doesn't even get his own outfit.
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maybe they don't know how to market him yet :unsure:. whatever logo/style they use its gonna stick around for years so they can't screw that up
 
mental midget said:
sure but...nadal already did that. my point is uniqueness. nadal was a one-off from the start. same w roger. alcaraz? bits and pieces of stuff i've seen before. no slight to his talent btw, just my observation.
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Alcaraz plays with joy. Also, he has that appearance of being a plucky short guy even though he's around 6' (let's not get into that...).
 
Wurm said:
Alcaraz plays with joy. Also, he has that appearance of being a plucky short guy even though he's around 6' (let's not get into that...).
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have to say, after the wimbledon final i'm retracting my opinion...somewhat. his shotmaking, tenacity and yeah, joy on the court definitely make him an exciting player to watch. i do stand by the opinion that he isn't quite 'doing something we've never seen' the way roger and nadal did, though. but what he is doing...he's doing pretty darn well.
 
LaVie en Rose said:
In fact Rune has great full name .
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How can you top this name?

Holger Vitus Nødskov Rune :D

Though Tennys Sandgren (remember him?) had a cool tennis name too. Jannik Sinner is a cool name, not gonna lie. But remember it's pronounced "Zinner" in German, not Sinner, with an "S" sound.

Carlos Alcaraz is so common, there's nothing memorable about it. I've actually known several Carlos Alcaraz's in my life, it's a common name in California. I can't imagine how common it would be in Spain.
 
mental midget said:
have to say, after the wimbledon final i'm retracting my opinion...somewhat. his shotmaking, tenacity and yeah, joy on the court definitely make him an exciting player to watch. i do stand by the opinion that he isn't quite 'doing something we've never seen' the way roger and nadal did, though. but what he is doing...he's doing pretty darn well.
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I think Alcaraz's use of the drop shot is superior to that of the big 3, his net game is superior to Rafa's and Novak's. If he continues winning, he will be as popular as Roger was, at least.
 
BeatlesFan said:
How can you top this name?

Holger Vitus Nødskov Rune :D

Though Tennys Sandgren (remember him?) had a cool tennis name too. Jannik Sinner is a cool name, not gonna lie. But remember it's pronounced "Zinner" in German, not Sinner, with an "S" sound.

Carlos Alcaraz is so common, there's nothing memorable about it. I've actually known several Carlos Alcaraz's in my life, it's a common name in California. I can't imagine how common it would be in Spain.
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Sinner's name is not pronounced "Zinner". I speak German fluently. The German "S" may a bit sharper depending on dialects, but is never a "Z" sound. They have a "Z" in their alphabet for that.
 
thrust said:
I think Alcaraz's use of the drop shot is superior to that of the big 3, his net game is superior to Rafa's and Novak's. If he continues winning, he will be as popular as Roger was, at least.
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that is...a rather high bar. respectfully disagree, roger was a once-in-a-lifetime marketable talent and while alcaraz's game might approach roger's with his flair and shotmaking, i honestly think it would be near impossible to top it. one record of roger's that i don't see ever being broken is 'greatest highlight reel of all time.'
 
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