Aliassime opens a can of worms: “It’s normal for tennis players to suffer more and more cramps”

Already in the second month of the season, Félix Auger-Aliassime holds a record of one victory in three matches played. A poor start for the Canadian, who will try to begin building his 2026 this week in Montpellier.

Montpellier’s ATP 250 is a good place, where Felix Auger-Aliassime lifted the trophy twelve months ago. The Canadian needs to start reaping good news after a bitter January, which ended with a second-round retirement at the Australian Open. What happened? Cramps, a modern ailment that increasingly affects players. Before making his debut tonight against Stan Wawrinka –what a match!–, we hear Félix discussing his current state and his recent experience in Melbourne with the folks at Tennis Majors.

Ready to compete again

“I’m back at 100%, I’ve felt it since I got back home, where I’ve had some great practices. Everything has gone well since I arrived here, in Australia what I went through were cramps, then my team and I took care of studying the situation to understand why something like that happened to me so early on, both in the match and in the tournament. We have some clues, but the truth is that in the past, I have always done well in that aspect.”

Aliassime explains why tennis players suffer so many cramps

“The surprise is that the cramps appeared at the beginning of the third set. I’ve dealt with cramps before, like in the US Open semifinals or the Mutua Madrid Open final, but those had a logical explanation and yet I was able to finish both matches. Given the intensity of modern tennis, the weather conditions, and the emotional toll, it is normal that we see more and more cramps in players. For me, however, it was an anomaly. It’s not that I felt reassured seeing what happened to Jannik and Carlos, but it feeds my reflection on how to keep improving.”

Starting the season on the wrong foot

“My goal this year was to return to the top 10 and prepare for the important tournaments. The plan was to rest between key events, but nothing went according to plan in Australia. For me, it’s as if the season hasn’t started yet; I barely played matches and those I played, I couldn’t finish as I wanted. Montpellier is the opportunity to truly launch my year, to build some momentum, and hopefully reach the final.”

Ambition to surpass his records

“I have always had great ambitions; over the years, I have gained maturity and deep confidence. I am not just talking about confidence linked to current results, but a growing internal certainty. That World No.5 ranking was a big milestone for me, but I still hope to go much higher. If my health supports me, I know that many things are within my reach.”

Focus on improving every day

“My focus is on the clarity of my game and my intentions on the court. If I do things right, the points will come naturally. I have learned a lot from past seasons, especially not to worry too much about defeats or tougher training periods. You can’t be at the top all the time; I remember wasting too much energy stressing at 22 years old, so today I try to approach those moments with more serenity.”

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Aliassime abre un melón: “Es normal que los tenistas suframos cada vez más calambres”