The start of the new season is getting closer and closer and all the players are preparing with great meticulousness. Carlos Alcaraz is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated men in 2025, in which he will try to add other important titles to his palmarés and return to the top of the ATP ranking.
It will not be an easy feat for the young Spaniard, who will have to improve especially in terms of consistency to have a chance to overtake his great rival Jannik Sinner (unless the latter is disqualified by the CAS in Lausanne). The Italian ace has shown simply exceptional consistency in 2024, in which he has collected 73 victories while suffering only six losses, an impressive balance that has allowed him to create a gap of almost 5000 points from Carlitos.
Carlos Alcaraz© Tenis Espana/Instagram – Fair Use
Although Alcaraz won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, he finished the season in third place in the ATP ranking even behind Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard’s peaks frighten all opponents, but the 21-year-old from Murcia is still unable to maintain the same intensity for the entire year and this has repercussions on the ATP ranking.
The current world number 3 is practicing hard in Spain together with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and will fly to Australia immediately after Christmas, in order to get used to the conditions and climate. The 4-time Grand Slam champion wants to start the season with a prestigious success, in order to accumulate points and confidence for the following months.
Update on Alcaraz’s schedule in 2025
As everyone knows, there is something new in Carlos’ team. Ferrero will not be his only coach in 2025, but there will also be Samuel Lopez (who ended his long collaboration with Pablo Carreno Busta). In a long interview with Punto de Break, Lopez revealed that Alcaraz’s schedule in the first part of 2025 will be different than in recent years.
“We have the planning done, but I can’t tell you off the top of my head,” he explained. “Juan Carlos will start the year in Australia, and then I do Rotterdam and I think Dubai.
“Then they will go to Indian Wells and Miami; when the clay court season starts, I will take over, but for example, tournaments like Barcelona or Madrid, we will probably share. At Roland Garros and Wimbledon, we are both there.
“I start the American tour, and Juan Carlos joins in at the US Open. In the Asian tour, we will split a couple of tournaments each. I have it all more or less mapped out in my head” – Samuel added.
Although the new season has not yet begun, Carlitos’ presence in Barcelona, at Queen’s and the Laver Cup has already been announced. In addition, the former world No. 1 will play an exhibition match with Frances Tiafoe in Puerto Rico in early March, just before defending her title in Indian Wells.
Carlos Alcaraz, ATP Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
The 4-time Grand Slam champion knows where he needs to improve to become even better and win more Major titles, which is his main goal at this stage of his career. The young Spaniard is very ambitious and has never hidden that he wants to become one of the best players of all time. Alcaraz has the right skills to achieve this feat, but he will always have to stay motivated and never lose the desire to improve (as the Big 3 did).
Roddick warns Carlitos
During 2024, the former world No. 1 complained several times about the ATP calendar. The 21-year-old from Murcia claims that the season is too long and the players do not have the right time to rest. However, Carlitos has played several exhibitions in recent months. The Spaniard was one of the protagonists of the ‘Six Kings Slam’ in October and played two exhibition matches in the United States in early December (with Shelton and Tiafoe).
Carlos Alcaraz, Laver Cup 2024© Stream screenshot
On the latest edition of his well-known podcast, former ATP ace Andy Roddick took a little shot to the Spaniard: “I get the criticism of, ‘don’t complain about the schedule and then go play exhibitions.’ I’m not going to tell you that’s wrong because I think it too.
An example that pops into my mind — and I don’t want to fire strays at this guy because I love him.
“I think he’s phenomenal, I think he’s a responsible citizen, but like Casper Ruud went and did that week in South America with Rafa Nadal and got off to a slow start the next season.
What I don’t accept is, ‘Hey, I didn’t have a long enough off-season.’ I don’t want to hear about it in Australia if he’s not feeling great. That’s it. I don’t want to hear about it.”
Tennis World USA