Carlos Alcaraz has begun his preparation for the upcoming season, in which he will not play official tournaments before the 2025 Australian Open. The first Grand Slam of the year has never been favorable to the Spaniard up to this point in his career, having failed to play his best tennis at Melbourne Park.
The former world No. 1 had to miss the 2023 edition due to an injury sustained during the pre-season, while this year he was defeated by Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. The 21-year-old from Murcia is working hard to get ready for the Happy Slam, in which he will be the number 3 seed behind Jannik Sinner and Sascha Zverev.
Carlos Alcaraz, Laver Cup 2024© Stream screenshot
Although 2024 is not over yet, several news have already been announced regarding Carlitos’ 2025. The current world number 3 will not only be followed by Juan Carlos Ferrero next year, but also by Samuel Lopez (former coach of Pablo Carreno Busta).
Furthermore – after the Australian Open – the 4-time Grand Slam champion will not play the tournaments on red clay in South America as in previous years, but will participate in the prestigious Rotterdam ATP 500. The young Spaniard knows that he still has to improve a lot in indoor conditions and has chosen this tournament precisely to solve his problems.
During the upcoming season, the former world No. 1 will also compete in the Queen’s ATP and the Laver Cup, where he was a really decisive for Team Europe this year in Berlin.
Roddick on Alcaraz’s schedule
Last week, the 21-year-old from Murcia played a pair of exhibition matches in the United States against Ben Shelton in New York and Frances Tiafoe in Charlotte respectively. The feeling is that Carlos tends to play too much at certain times of the year and the forearm injury suffered in 2024 could lead him to make some reflections.
Carlos Alcaraz, Six Kings Slam 2024© Stream screenshot
On the latest edition of his podcast, former American ace Andy Roddick explained that Alcaraz will definitely change his schedule in the coming years: “He’s fully aware of what he is now. He’s one of the biggest global sports stars we have, he’s the celebrity in the room amongst sports celebrities.
I think people are thirsty to see him, thirsty to watch him. It was great, we talked, he asked a million questions.”
Roddick continued: “He’s sort of at the point where he doesn’t want to disappoint anyone, and that’s a tough situation, it really is.
He’s going to have to learn how to schedule, how to say no, maybe slightly disappoint someone, sometimes to keep his sanity over time.”
The 4-time Grand Slam champion had also played the ‘Six Kings Slam’ in Saudi Arabia in October, a highly controversial exhibition tournament that awarded 1.5 million to all participants and 6 million to the winner of the event.
The 2025 AO is close
The 21-year-old Spaniard knows that he has to eliminate the ups and downs in 2025, which is why he plans to change some things from the past. Carlitos has a very spectacular and complete game, but he has to learn to manage his efforts and do the right thing in the decisive moments of the matches.
In addition, the world number 3 must learn to win when he plays badly like his great rival Sinner. It is precisely the consistency during the year that has allowed the Italian ace to create a gap of almost 5000 points from Alcaraz, despite the latter winning two Major titles and a Masters 1000 in 2024.
Carlos Alcaraz, Laver Cup 2024© Stream screenshot
During an interview with ‘Tennis365’, tennis legend Pat Cash talked about Alcaraz: “Carlos has the variety to play on any surface and he has proved that by winning Grand Slams on three. Jannik hasn’t quite cracked the grass yet, but they are both hitting the ball great.
It’s about putting it all together, staying healthy and enjoying tennis to see how far he can go. It can be a grind doing it week after week, so we’ll see how he goes.
Sinner has a calmer personality and that tends to help for longevity. We like to see the passion that Carlos has got, but I hope he continues to enjoy it.
It’s a new season and anyone can win the Australian Open, but it looks like Jannik Sinner is unstoppable on a hard court. He’s coming off the back of a huge year.”
It will not be easy for the Spanish ace to win the 2025 Australian Open, because Sinner plays his best tennis on the hard court and has been almost unstoppable in the last twelve months. The Italian is sure to remain at the top of the ATP rankings even after the first Major of the new season.
Tennis World USA