Carlos Alcaraz raises concerns as things get ‘too demanding’ for Monte Carlo Masters champ | Tennis | Sport
Carlos Alcaraz has shared his intentions to play a full clay-court schedule, even though it will be “too demanding”. The world No. 1 is getting his clay swing underway at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he is the defending champion. He then plans to compete in next week’s ATP 500 event in Barcelona, before playing back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome. Then, Alcaraz will head to Paris for the French Open.
It’s a long stretch, and Alcaraz has often taken breaks during this portion of the calendar, even if he didn’t want to. Last year, an adductor injury stopped him from playing the Madrid Open. And a right arm injury meant he only played one warm-up event before the 2024 French Open, losing in the Madrid quarter-finals.
However, after suffering a shock early exit at the recent Miami Open, Alcaraz now wants to go full throttle on his favourite surface. “That’s my idea,” he said of playing in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Paris. “Obviously the clay season is really… It’s too demanding, physically, mentally.”
Alcaraz’s coach, Samuel Lopez, had previously revealed that the world No. 1 likely would have skipped Monte Carlo had he gone deep in Miami. There is still one obvious week that Alcaraz could take off during the clay swing, but he doesn’t want to.
He added: “Obviously I would say the week of Barcelona should be the week that I have to take off. But Barcelona is a really important tournament for me. I have a special feeling that I just used to play there when I was under 14.
“A lot of friends there, playing at home, it’s always great. So let’s see how it’s going to be, the body and mentally. My plan is to take care of my body as much as possible during matches and tournaments.”
It might be a demanding time of year for Alcaraz, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion is just happy to get back on the clay. “I miss clay every time that the clay season is over. I just miss it,” he admitted.
“The first few practices were about getting back into the swing of things. I just said to my team, ‘It’s time to get my socks dirty again’. It feels amazing to be back on clay.”
Alcaraz is the No. 1 seed in Monaco and has received a bye directly into the second round. The Spaniard will begin his Monte Carlo Masters title defence against Sebastian Baez. They’re due to face off in the third match on Court Rainier III on Tuesday.
