I have a lot of fun. I enjoy so much out there.
Then came the part worth filing. “But I will consider some tournaments to play doubles, because I have a lot of fun. I enjoy so much out there,” he said. “I use it to be better in some shots and some specific moments that I really want to use in the singles, so hopefully I’m healthy enough physically to play more doubles on the tour.”
The last time Alcaraz entered a doubles draw at a tour event, he was 18 years old and ranked outside the top 10. He played Madrid in May 2022 with Marc Lopez, beating Lukasz Kubot and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 4-6, 7-6 (2), 10-4 before losing to Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 3-6, 6-3, 7-10 in the last 16. He has not played a tour-level doubles match since.
Everything since has come in a team shirt, or in mixed. His doubles appearances in four and a half years:
Paris Olympics 2024 (with Rafael Nadal): wins over Gonzalez/Molteni and Griekspoor/Koolhof, then a quarter-final defeat to Krajicek/Ram
Davis Cup group stage 2024, Valencia (with Marcel Granollers): beat Mensik/Pavlasek 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (2)
Laver Cup 2024, Berlin: beat Shelton/Tiafoe 6-2, 7-6 (6) with Casper Ruud, lost to Fritz/Shelton 6-7 (5), 4-6 with Alexander Zverev
Davis Cup Finals 2024, Malaga (with Granollers): lost the quarter-final to Koolhof/van de Zandschulp 6-7 (4), 6-7 (3)
Laver Cup 2025, San Francisco: beat Michelsen/Opelka 7-6 (4), 6-1 with Ruud, beat Fritz/Michelsen 7-6 (7), 6-4 with Mensik
US Open mixed doubles 2025 (with Emma Raducanu): lost the opening round to top seeds Draper/Pegula 2-4, 2-4
US Open mixed doubles 2026 (with Serena Williams, wild card): beat Routliffe/Glasspool 5-3, 4-1, lost the quarter-final to Bencic/Cobolli 4-5 (4-7), 1-4
Laver Cup 2026, London: beat Bublik/Fritz 6-4, 6-4 with Mensik
The Mensik partnership is now 2-0, and both men described it in the same terms afterwards. “With Carlos it’s always about good energy. He’s the guy who is really easy to follow, not just on the court but off the court,” the Czech said. “In San Francisco when we played, we complete each other pretty well on the court. I’m just happy that this year we showed it again.”
“I think we have great chemistry, and we showed that in San Francisco and this year once again. So we’re 100% efficient when we team up,” Alcaraz said. “He’s a nice person off the court as well. We have great laughs, and I think we translate that on the court.”
The obstacle he named is the one that has kept him out of doubles draws since 2022, and it is the same argument he has made about the calendar: not that he doesn’t want to play, but that the body has to be spent somewhere. The difference on Friday was that he put a condition on it rather than a refusal.