mobile app bar

Carlos Alcaraz Blames ‘Tight Schedule’ For Shock Loss Against Botic van de Zandschulp

Advait Jajodia
Published

Carlos Alcaraz Blames 'Tight Schedule' For Shock Loss Against Botic van de Zandschulp

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.

“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 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.

Post Edited By:Somin Bhattacharjee

About the author

Advait Jajodia

Advait Jajodia

x-iconinstagram-iconlinkedin-icon

Advait Jajodia, an NBA and Tennis journalist for The SportsRush, has had a passion for both sports for over a decade. His admiration for Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, and Rafael Nadal pushed him to gain a profound understanding of the sports. With a background as a multi-sport athlete, Advait uses his experience on the hardwood and the court to offer insightful analysis. Over three years of dedicated sports journalism has equipped the 22-year-old with a unique perspective, reflected in his prolific portfolio of 4,200+ articles.

Share this article