Carlos Alcaraz has experienced a successful yet hectic year and it will only get busier towards the end. With a few tournaments left this year, the four-time grand slam champion went so far as to warn that the busy schedule could “kill us.”
After his singles match against Ben Shelton at the 2024 Laver Cup on Saturday, Alcaraz had a lot of complaints about the tennis schedule this year. Condemning the tight schedule, Alcaraz said, “Probably they are going to kill us in some way.”
He believes this is a reason for a lot of players skipping some tournaments to manage their workload. The busy calendar has been blamed for the rise in injuries and to avoid them, players have become picky in choosing the tournaments to participate.
Furthermore, Alcaraz confessed that he sometimes enters a tournament without a lot of motivation.
“Sometimes, you don’t want to go to a tournament. I’m not going to lie — I have felt this way a few times already. Sometimes I don’t feel motivated at all. But as I’ve said many, many times, I play my best tennis when I smile and enjoy it on the court. That’s the best option to keep motivating (myself),” said the 21-year-old.
“Sometimes, you don’t want to go to a tournament. I’m not going to lie – I have felt this way a few times.
“Sometimes I don’t feel motivated at all. But I play my best when I smile and enjoy it on court. That’s the best option to keep motivating myself.”https://t.co/h74350aoIO pic.twitter.com/4ZFieRY5Sj
— TennisONE App (@TennisONEApp) September 21, 2024
The 2024 Wimbledon champion has already taken part in 50+ singles matches so far and still has a few tournaments left to participate. This excessive workload could have been a reason behind his shock early US Open exit.
Ever since his Wimbledon victory, Alcaraz has been continuously playing. He won a silver at Paris Olympics and then had a disappointing campaign at the Cincinnati Open. This packed schedule could have affected his performance at this year’s final grand slam.
After his Laver Cup campaign, Alcaraz has 6 Kings Slams coming up, followed by exhibition matches in the US. He also has some ATP Masters 1000 events lined up before heading to the ATP Finals for which he is yet to qualify.
The young sensation should focus on giving himself a break at the right time by skipping a few tournaments to allow him to concentrate on the big events. It could provide him with much-needed rest, allowing him to be in the best possible condition to qualify for the ATP finals, which is significant for any player.
