Carolina Meligeni Rodrigues Alves (born 23 April 1996) is a Brazilian tennis player. She has career-high rankings of 165 in singles, achieved on 12 September 2022, and world No. 110 in doubles, achieved on 18 July 2022. Alves has won seven singles and 23 doubles titles at ITF Circuit tournaments.
Career
Professional career
2011
Carol made her debut on June 6, 2011, against Isabella Capato Camargo, winning in straight sets, 6–1, at the Tennis Club of Santos Tournament in Brazil. However, in the same tournament, she was defeated by Argentine seed Andrea Benitez in straight sets in the round of 16.
2012: First doubles tournament
Carol's first doubles appearance occurred on July 30, 2012, again in Santos, partnering with compatriot Giovanna Baccarini. They were defeated in the first round by fellow Brazilians Paula Cristina Gonçalves and Roxane Vaisemberg.
2013: First ITF doubles title
In 2013, Carol won her first ITF doubles title in Curitiba, Brazil, alongside Leticia Garcia Vidal.
Later that year, Carol received the Heart Award for her outstanding performance during the Americas Zone Group I of the 2019 Fed Cup.[5][6]
"I am very happy to be recognized with this award. I want to thank my entire Fed Cup team, both the athletes and the support staff who made this possible. Above all, I am proud to help others through this recognition," said Alves after receiving the award.
Carol earned her first main-draw singles win at a WTA-level event higher than 125 by defeating Dayana Yastremska in the Copa Colsanitas opening round.[10]
In May, she claimed her biggest title yet at the ITF W25 in Castell-Platja d'Aro, Spain, defeating Carlota Martinez in the final.[11]
"I'm thrilled with this title, my first ITF W25. It was a challenging week with tough matches and difficult conditions. This victory crowns all my hard work. I am grateful to my team at ADK Tennis, especially coach Luiz Peniza," Carol said after the win.
In late July, Carolina Meligeni Alves participated in a ITF W60 tournament in Feira de Santana.[16] In the singles draw, she lost in the first round to American Haley Giavara in straight sets, 2–6, 1–6. In doubles, paired with French player Kristina Mladenović, Alves reached the second round but withdrew before the match against Brazilian duo Helena Bueno and Maria Carolina Ferreira Turchetto due to Mladenović's withdrawal.[17]
Later, Alves competed in another tournament, an ITF W80 event in Brasília. In singles, she lost in the first round to 18-year-old Canadian Cadence Brace, 3–6, 4–6.[18] In doubles, however, she partnered with Argentina's Julia Riera and won the title, defeating the British-Ukrainian duo Eden Silva and Valeriya Strakhova in the final, 6–2, 6–3. This title was the biggest of Alves' career at the time.[19][20]
"Her partner withdrew, but playing together for the first time worked out perfectly. I'm very happy with this achievement. Competing at home, traveling with my coach, and facing high-level players make a big difference in our calendar. I can only thank CBT and the tournament sponsors, who are also my personal sponsors,” said Alves after winning the title.
In October, Alves competed in her second Pan American Games, this time in Santiago. She won two matches in the singles draw before losing in the quarterfinals to Argentina's María Carlé.[21]
2024
Alves began the 2024 season representing Brazil at the United Cup in Perth, Australia, a mixed-team competition. This was her second consecutive appearance at the event. Although she did not play any matches, the Brazilian team struggled and was eliminated in the group stage, with Beatriz Haddad Maia securing the team's sole victory by defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets.[22][23]
During the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, Alves stepped in for Laura Pigossi to face Germany's Laura Siegemund. Despite losing 2–1, she was praised for winning her first set against a top-100 player and putting up a strong fight.[24][25]
In May, Alves claimed her seventh career singles title at the ITF W15 in São João da Boa Vista, São Paulo, defeating an Argentine opponent in the final.[26]
In November, with Luisa Stefani sidelined due to a knee operation, Alves partnered with Haddad Maia in the decisive doubles match of the Billie Jean King Cup tie against Argentina. They defeated Jasmin Ortenzi and Julia Riera to secure Brazil's place in the 2025 Finals qualifiers.[27]
2025
Carolina Meligeni began her 2025 season competing in the United Cup, representing Brazil. In the tournament's first tie, Brazil faced China. Meligeni and Rafael Matos teamed up for the mixed doubles match, but they were defeated, contributing to a clean sweep by the Chinese team in that tie.[28][29]
Meligeni and the Brazilians could not defeat China in the United Cup. This kept Brazil in dificult contention for the tournament.[30]
The defeats from Meligeni/Matos in mixed doubles and earlier from their teammates Beatriz Haddad Maia and Thiago Monteiro in singles matches complicated Brazil's chances of advancing further in the United Cup.[31]
The Brazilian team's struggles continued in the United Cup, as Carolina Meligeni and Rafael Matos were defeated once again in the mixed doubles match during their final tie, this time against Germany. Despite their efforts, the Brazilian team was unable to secure a single victory in the tournament, finishing their campaign without advancing past the group stage.[32][33]
Alves second tournament of the season was a ITF W35 in Buenos Aires where she participated in both singles and doubles[34]. In the doubles draw, Alves played with Jazmín Ortenzi from Argentina and lost in the first round, by 6/1 6/2, facing Noelia Zeballos from Bolivia and Miriana Tona from Italy.
In the singles draw[35], Alves became the champion, winning against Ortenzi in the final by 6/2 6/4. This was her first singles W35 title, her 8th singles professional title and her biggest to date.[36]
Personal life
Carolina Meligeni Alves is of Argentine descent through her mother.[37] She is the niece of former tennis player Fernando Meligeni and sister of tennis player Felipe Meligeni Alves.[38]