BREAKING: Carlos Alcaraz shares heartbreaking reason he’s already planning break from tennis
Carlos Alcaraz returned to action at the US Open after spending four-and-a-half months sidelined by a wrist injury. The world No. 3 has found his groove already, dropping just one set on his way to the second week. But he’s also already shared his plans to start taking prolonged breaks from tennis.
Following his second-round match on Wednesday, Alcaraz suggested he would take one-to two-month rest periods and skip some tournaments because it was “impossible” to play every event on the packed calendar. And the defending champion has since opened up on the effects of competing too often, admitting it can rob him of his joy on the court.
I’m kind of a guy that doesn’t need to play a lot of tournaments. So I just prefer to be, like, mentally healthy and physically healthy to approach the tournaments and getting the feeling of the competition and going to the tournament, whatever it is,” Alcaraz said after reaching the last 16.
“I just feel like you can have those moments of time to have a break, to prepare well for tournaments, to prepare well mentally. You don’t have that time, that period, [those] breaks to perform at your best in the tournaments. It is like a tournament after tournament after tournament, and you don’t feel like you are well-prepared coming to some tournaments.
“So that’s why I just decided that probably in the future I’m gonna take breaks because I want to feel well-prepared coming to Grand Slams, Masters 1000s, whatever it is.”
Alcaraz is known for his smiley demeanour on the court. The seven-time Grand Slam champion is something of a showman and has an array of stunning, flashy shots in his armour. But he confessed that he lost those feelings when he overplayed.
The No. 2 seed in New York added: “I just want to step on the court, have joy, have fun on the court, because sometimes playing such a long season or playing a lot of tournaments week after week, I feel like I’m not playing with joy, I don’t have fun on the court. I just want to miss the tennis sometimes, miss the tours, miss you guys.
“That’s why I just want to have long breaks, because it’s impossible to last the whole season playing every tournament.”
For now, Alcaraz is all-in on his US Open title defence and is feeling fresher than most after his wrist injury forced him to the sidelines. When he’s done in Flushing Meadows, the Spaniard is set to play the Laver Cup in London, the Japan Open in Tokyo, and the Shanghai Masters.
He would then look ahead to the final tournaments of the season on indoor hard courts in Europe. But given what he’s said about taking breaks, Alcaraz may well decide to cut some things from his schedule.
