The tennis world witnessed the biggest shock of the US Open 2024 when Carlos Alcaraz, one of the tournament favorites, lost in the second round in one of the most embarrassing losses of his young career. Botic van de Zandschulp got the better of the Spaniard 6-1, 7-5, 4-6 in a game where the latter looked completely off-color from the get-go. Alcaraz, after his defeat to the Dutchman, blamed the hectic ATP schedule.
When asked about his energy levels at the US Open, Alcaraz admitted that playing a plethora of tournaments and going deep into them, took a toll.
“I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately. With Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Olympics…” the Murcia-born tennis star said.
After his loss, Carlos Alcaraz was asked if the craziness of this year’s tennis schedule made him arrive to the US Open with less energy, ‘The tennis schedule is so tight… but I don’t want to use that as an excuse’
“Looking back at the schedule of Roland Garros, Wimbledon,… pic.twitter.com/XiNjLOkct5
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 30, 2024
“I took a little break after [the] Olympics,” he added. “I thought it was enough… Probably it wasn’t enough. I came here without as much energy as I thought I was going to come with. But I don’t want to use that as an excuse.”
Alcaraz won the French Open on clay in June, and just a month later, won another Grand Slam–Wimbledon–on grass. Then, he had to revert to playing on clay at Roland Garros in the Olympics, where he came second to Novak Djokovic.
Apart from having to adapt to different surfaces in a short period, Alcaraz also dealt with some injury scares. The 21-year-old hurt his ankle in practice leading up to the US Open. While it seemed to be a minor issue at first, it clearly affected his physicality.
Detractors may feel Alcaraz justified his loss with an excuse. However, his concerns regarding a ‘tight schedule’ were pointed out by Iga Swiatek herself.
Alcaraz followed Swiatek’s concerns
Because of the increase in cash prizes for both ATP and WTA tournaments, players are motivated to take part in as many tournaments as possible. While players do benefit from this financially, Swiatek pointed out the difficulties in playing several prestigious tournaments back-to-back.
During the Cincinnati Masters’ before the US Open, the Polish superstar was extremely critical of the schedule.
“It’s not going to end well. It makes tennis less fun for us,” she said. “...it’s pretty exhausting and I think most of WTA players would tell you that.”
“It’s not going to end well!” ♀️
Iga Swiatek gives her opinion on the busy schedule of a tennis player pic.twitter.com/80R4tZBa3h
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) August 17, 2024
It would be interesting to see how the ATP and WTA react to players as famous as Alcaraz and Swiatek complaining about the calendar. While the schedule for most tournaments in the upcoming season are already set, tours could have to come up with alternatives to allow players time off to rest.
