Carlos Alcaraz has been given a stern warning by former British No 1 Greg Rusedski over his schedule, after suggesting Jannik Sinner is opening with a more sustainable schedule during the off-season.
Alcaraz has spoken about his concerns over burnout for players at the top of the men’s game, as he accused ATP Tour chiefs of piecing together a calendar that is in danger of putting the health of players at risk.
“Probably they are going to kill us in some way,” said Alcaraz, as he criticised the schedule last year.
“Right now, a lot of good players are going to miss a lot of tournaments because of injury
“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.
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“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 court. That’s the best option to keep motivating (myself).”
Despite those comments, Alcaraz has continued to play exhibition matches, where he is collective big appearance fees to be part of the show.
Alcaraz picked up an injury in the ATP Finals against Jannik Sinner last month that forced him to pull out of the Davis Cup Finals with Spain, but he pressed forward with exhibition matches in America in recent days.
Now Rusedski has fired out a warning to Alcaraz, as he suggested the 22-year-old needs to learn from the example being set by Sinner, who opted out of the Davis Cup Finals with Italy and is not playing exhibition matches as he focuses on being ready for the new season.
“Sinner did the Saudi exhibition, which everyone would play, and then won it again,” said Rusedski on his new Off Court with Greg podcast.
“He has not done anything in the off-season and taken the Davis Cup off. Alcaraz, on the other hand, played in Tokyo and got injured.
“He got injured in the ATP Finals. He didn’t play the Davis Cup and then he’s at an exhibition to start the year. He is young and can bounce back, but I think he has got to be a bit more clever with his scheduling.”
Alcaraz will be heading to Australia shortly to start his preparations for the opening Grand Slam of 2026, where he will look to complete his collection of major titles.
He will join an elite list of players to win all four Grand Slams if he claims the title in Melbourne for the first time next month.