Legendary coach Rick Macci has urged Carlos Alcaraz to experiment with tweaking his service motion as he feels this is the way the Spanish superstar can reach “another level.”
Alcaraz has been lauded for his incredibly complete game since his rise to the top of tennis, with his serve often identified as the area with the most room for improvement.
The world No 1 has long been able to find huge power with his serve, but accuracy and consistency have eluded him at times.
Alcaraz struggling on serve was a key factor in his four-set loss to Jannik Sinner in the 2025 Wimbledon final as he landed just 53% of his first serves.
However, Alcaraz’s serve was outstanding throughout his run to his sixth Grand Slam title at the 2025 US Open.
In his seven matches in New York, the 22-year-old lost serve only three times and faced just 10 break points — the fewest any player has faced en route to winning a Grand Slam title.
In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Macci named Alcaraz when asked if there are any players he would like the chance to work with or advise.
“Believe it or not, I think, if they wanted to — unless they’re gonna go to a sport science guy — I think Alcaraz should experiment with going to a platform [service motion],” said the American, who has coached five players who became world No 1.
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“I think that is how he can go to another level. Because even though he has a gun, you know he can hit it hard… A few too many double faults, which is okay. He has good courage. But the percentage, in my opinion, is too low.
“And it has nothing to do with his size, because he’s not gonna grow any taller, so it is what it is. I would love just to say, ‘Hey, take the temperature. Try this. And here’s all these corrective techniques and see what you like.’
“The best players in any sport, especially tennis because it’s so technical-based, they all tweak. And the serve is one of the easier things to modify if you understand the science part of it because there’s no movement involved. ”
Macci also addressed whether Alcaraz’s serve improving further would give him the edge in his rivalry with Sinner.
“100%, and that will be the edge. I know he changed his takeback, I think that helped him maybe a little bit,” Macci assessed.
“But listen, it is what it is. It will be interesting to see. Forget me, if they just get a biomechanist involved, a lot of this could be enhanced.
“The problem is, a lot of coaches or travel coaches or whatever, it’s their player, and I get that, but it should be about the player and not about them. And everybody should want a helping hand.
“And a lot of coaches help people based on their experience, how they were taught, what they think, what they hear, what they see. But unless you have a deep understanding of the kinetic chain and how certain things can be done – the human eye can’t even see this, a lot of these things.”
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