Carlos Alcaraz enjoyed another great year on the ATP Tour in 2024, picking up four titles.
It was a stellar year on the ATP Tour for the Spanish number one who doubled his Grand Slam tally, with wins over Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz won his first French Open earlier this year, before bringing home his second consecutive Wimbledon title, taking his Grand Slam total to four.
The 21-year-old also added a fifth Masters 1000 title to his collection, as Alcaraz won Indian Wells for the second year running.
His ranking did drop off, however, as he is currently ranked third in the world behind Zverev and Jannik Sinner.
He’ll be looking to bounce back and enjoy a strong campaign in 2025, but one former world number one thinks Alcaraz may have some tough decisions to make in the new year.
Andy Roddick says Carlos Alcaraz is going to have to ‘disappoint’ some people in 2025
Speaking on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the 2003 US Open champion revealed what happened when he spent time with Alcaraz for the first time recently.
“He’s fully aware of what he is now,” said Roddick.
“He’s one of the biggest global sports stars we have, he’s the celebrity in the room amongst sports celebrities.
“I think people are thirsty to see him, thirsty to watch him.
“It was great, we talked, he asked a million questions.”
After Alcaraz played in an exhibition match this week, Roddick went on to say that the Spaniard may have some tough scheduling decisions ahead of him.
“He’s sort of at the point where he doesn’t want to disappoint anyone, and that’s a tough situation, it really is,” said the American.
“He’s going to have to learn how to schedule, how to say no, maybe slightly disappoint someone, sometimes to keep his sanity over time.”
How much tennis did Carlos Alcaraz play in 2024?
Roddick seems concerned about the quantity of tennis Alcaraz is playing at such a young age, unsurprising considering the American ended up retiring from the sport at just 30 years old.
Does Roddick have a point though, or is Alcaraz playing a fairly reasonable schedule, all things considered?
| Month | Tournament | Result | Matches played |
| January | Australian Open | Lost in QF | 5 |
| February | Argentina Open | Lost in SF | 3 |
| February | Rio Open | Lost in R32 (RET) | 1 |
| March | Indian Wells | Won | 6 |
| March | Miami | Lost in QF | 4 |
| May | Madrid | Lost in QF | 4 |
| June | French Open | Won | 7 |
| June | Queens | Lost in R16 | 2 |
| July | Wimbledon | Won | 7 |
| August | Cincinnati | Lost in R32 | 1 |
| August | US Open | Lost in R64 | 2 |
| October | China Open | Won | 5 |
| October | Shanghai | Lost in QF | 4 |
| October | Paris | Lost in R16 | 2 |
| November | ATP Finals | Lost in RR | 3 |
| – | – | – | 56 |
Alcaraz’s 56 ATP tour contests may seem like a lot, but those aren’t the only tournaments/exhibitions he played in 2024.
- March – Played in Las Vegas ‘Netflix Slam’ against Rafael Nadal
- August – Reached the Olympic doubles quarter-finals with Rafael Nadal
- August – Lost the Olympic singles final to Novak Djokovic
- September – Played in the Davis Cup Finals group stage
- September – Played in the Laver Cup for Team Europe
- October – Played in Saudi Arabia’s ‘Six Kings Slam’
- November – Played for Spain in their Davis Cup Finals quarter-final loss
- December – Played at Madison Square Garden against Ben Shelton
- December – Played in Charlotte against Frances Tiafoe
From start to finish, the Spaniard barely had a break this year, and whilst he may be more popular than ever making a name for himself on the world’s biggest stages, he may need to calm things down in the new year.
Players perhaps shouldn’t be criticized for playing tennis, the sport they love, but all it takes is one injury at an exhibition event to completely derail a season.
Alcaraz is set to now take a deserved rest before he returns at the Australian Open which begins on January 12.
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