The collectibles market for tennis star Carlos Alcaraz vaulted figuratively overnight between his epic five-set win in the 2025 French Open final over Jannik Sinner up until the start of Wimbledon. And then vaulted again literally overnight.
A first eye-opening, record-breaking sale occurred June 27 when Alcaraz’s 2024 Topps Royalty one-of-a-kind autographed card with the inscription “2024 Indian Wells Champ” and bearing the knob of his used racket in the card sold for $222,000 through Fanatics Collect.
It only took one day for that record sale to be broken.
On June 28, Alcaraz’s 2022 NetPro Golden Slam one-of-one autographed rookie card with a gem mint 10 grade from PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator) hit $237,907.32 through Goldin.
According to Card Ladder, an online card sales monitor, these two sales are around seven times higher than the previous most expensive Alcaraz card. The two Alcaraz cards sold within two days of each other within late June also blew away the record for the most expensive male tennis player card ever. A Roger Federer 2003 NetPro International Court “rookie” patch autographed card (serial numbered 1 out of 25 produced) with a Beckett gem-mint 9.5 card grade and 10 autograph grade sold for $181,200 in May 2021 via Goldin.
The All-Time Highest Public Sale for ANY Men’s Tennis Card! 🔥
Final Sale Price on this 2022 NetPro Premium Autograph Golden Slam Carlos Alcaraz Signed Rookie Card (#1/1): $237,907
Email us at [email protected] to consign your Tennis Collectibles to one of our upcoming Auctions!… pic.twitter.com/rG8GrhPASO
— Goldin (@GoldinCo) June 29, 2025
For perspective, Alcaraz’s top card sale is more than the top nine highest card sales for Novak Djokovic, the all-time men’s leader in Grand Slam titles, combined. The 2022 Alcaraz NetPro card sale is more than the top 15 highest card sales for Rafael Nadal combined.
Comparing Alcaraz to other sports superstars:
- Zero Shai Gilgeous-Alexander cards have ever publicly sold for more than $230,000
- Only one Aaron Judge card has ever sold for more than $200,000
- Only two Cristiano Ronaldo card sales have been for more than $230,000
- Only seven Lionel Messi cards have eclipsed Alcaraz’s top sale
As he’s two wins away from a sixth Grand Slam title at the start of Friday’s Wimbledon semifinal against Taylor Fritz, the 22-year-old Spaniard seems destined to become the top chase for any tennis card collector, a still small but growing segment of the sports card hobby.
“He’s bringing so many eyeballs to the sport, especially with that French Open final a couple weeks ago,” said Matt Cashin, founder of Prestige Memorabilia and TheTennisAuction.com. “That just got so much attention and gave tennis, just as a sport, so much exposure. Subsequently, he’s bringing more attention on the tennis memorabilia market.”
On June 8, when he won the French Open, searches for Alcaraz increased more than 580 percent on eBay globally, compared to the average day during the week prior (June 1-7).
“I think a lot of people are looking to get in on some of that success he’s been having and what they think he’s going to have going forward,” Cashin added. ”So there already has been a surge on some of his collectibles, and I think we’ll definitely continue to see that.”
Alcaraz is still chasing one tennis legend, though, for the sport’s highest ever card sale.
A Serena Williams card still holds the top price of any tennis player card. Her 2003 NetPro International Series “rookie” patch autographed card (serial numbered 71 out of 100) with a PSA 8 card grade and 10 autograph grade went for $266,400 in May 2022 via Goldin.
(Neither of the Williams or Federer cards referenced were produced in their respective first years on tour. Williams played her first professional main draw match in 1997, while Federer made his pro debut in 1998. There were no traditional sets of tennis trading cards produced at that time, though.)
Statistics behind tennis cards on the secondary market display some pluses and minuses, generally speaking.
Tennis card sales on the secondary market have risen 483.2 percent in the past five years, via Card Ladder. That’s the largest growth of any sport or genre. In 2024, the number of tennis trading cards sold in eBay’s global trading card category increased more than 250 percent compared to 2023.
All that said, tennis is one of the few sports or genres that’s been down from one year ago, with total sales on the secondary market down 5.11 percent. But with Alcaraz, the supply of high-end items seemingly doesn’t meet the demand. Which may be another reason for such high price points.
🎾 JUST SOLD 🎾
This Carlos Alcaraz 2024 Topps Royalty Racket Knob Auto 1/1 sold for $222,000 RAW last night at @FanaticsCollect, setting a record high card sale for the 2nd ranked men’s tennis player in the WORLD! 😱
Alcaraz’s previous highest public sale was $33,665.
Are… pic.twitter.com/lctMZfJwKW
— The Collectibles Guru (@gurucollects) June 27, 2025
“I’m seeing so many people inquiring about when I’m going to have something from Alcaraz I can get my hands on,” Cashin said. “I’m definitely happy about it.”
Cashin pointed out how limited it’s been to find match-used Alcaraz items available for consignment or even up for sale anywhere. He said there’s been a noticeable increase in demand for items. This also makes estimates on Alcaraz items difficult to provide when they do become available.
A smashed match-used Alcaraz racket from the 2022 Croatia Open sold for $15,000 in June through Prestige. Cashin said that racket would have sold for “far less” a couple of years ago, even though Alcaraz won his first major (U.S. Open) and finished No. 1 at the end of that year.
Still, the Alcaraz racket sale pales in comparison to the $157,333.20 spent on Rafael Nadal’s racquet used in the finals of the 2017 French Open, where the lefty captured his 10th title at Roland Garros.
“I definitely think there’s going to be a different group of people watching Alcaraz than say Federer and Nadal,” Cashin said. “Collectors see how much Alcaraz’s items are worth. … I would say even right now, if you got a really great Alcaraz racket right now that came up for sale, you could get into the six-figure range.”
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(Top photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
