Following Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s withdrawal from the 2025 Shanghai Masters, a leading athlete welfare and injury prevention expert has discussed the importance of tennis players managing their schedules.<\/p>\n
Stephen Smith, the founder and CEO of Kitman Labs \u2014 which is the world\u2019s leading sports science and data company \u2014 also spoke about the crucial role that physiotherapists perform.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz<\/a> pulled out ahead of the Shanghai ATP 1000 tournament shortly after clinching the title at the Japan Open \u2014 his eighth tournament win of an outstanding 2025 season.<\/p>\n The world No 1 sustained a left ankle injury in the first of his five wins in Tokyo, and while it was not enough to stop his run, he confirmed he was dealing with \u201csome physical issues\u201d in his Shanghai withdrawal announcement.<\/p>\n The 22-year-old Spaniard expressed the need to \u201crest and recover\u201d, which would be fully understandable even without an injury given his exploits in recent months.<\/p>\n The success of dominant players like Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner<\/a> means they often play the maximum number of matches at every tournament they enter.<\/p>\n Starting with the Monte Carlo Masters in April, Alcaraz reached the final at nine consecutive tournaments across all three surfaces, claiming seven titles and finishing as a runner-up twice. He has played 50 singles matches since the start of April (including two at the Laver Cup last month) \u2014 the most possible from the events he has entered.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview, Tennis365 asked Smith about the scheduling challenges for Alcaraz, and whether it is simply impossible for top stars to play every tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I think it\u2019s certainly going to be challenging,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to make it really hard to play in all of them. So I think players probably do need to be able to gauge that.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is, I think, in the absence of research, in the absence of objectivity, how do they know when to do that? We know that every time you take the court, there\u2019s an inherent risk that injury may occur. The same thing in football, the same thing in basketball, the same thing in rugby. Every time you step out, there\u2019s an inherent risk.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we really need to understand is, when does that risk increase? When does it increase to a level that is higher than the general risk that we would like to take?<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I think what we need to do is to arm athletes and their support staff around them with the ability to understand that and to be able to make those calculated decisions.<\/p>\n Carlos Alcaraz News<\/p>\n Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s return date confirmed in schedule update after Shanghai Masters withdrawal<\/a><\/p>\n