Carlos Alcaraz has weighed into the highly debated topic of one-week and two-week Masters 1000 tournaments.
Alcaraz lost to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters last week, which is one of the only two remaining one-week ATP 1000 events.
The Spaniard has not taken long to return to the match court, with Alcaraz playing at the Barcelona Open just two days later.
After Alcaraz beat Otto Virtanen in his first round match at the Barcelona Open, he revealed what he now thinks about one-week Masters 1000 tournaments after losing in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
Carlos Alcaraz explains why he prefers one-week Masters 1000 tournaments
Masters 1000 tournaments have been expanded from one week to two weeks since 2023, and now the Monte Carlo Masters and the Paris Masters are the only two seven-day tournaments of this calibre that remain on the ATP Tour.
Many tennis players have been critical of two-week Masters 1000 tournaments, and Alcaraz also appears to be on this side of the argument.
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When speaking in his press conference after beating Virtanen 6-4, 6-2, Alcaraz explained that he always believes one-week Masters 1000 tournaments are better, pointing to how his upcoming tournaments in Madrid and Rome have been impacted by the change.
“I’ve always been a proponent of one-week tournaments, and I believe they’re always better,” said Alcaraz, as reported by Punto de Break.
“In this case, if Madrid, for example, were a one-week tournament, I’d have next week off: that would also help. And if Rome were a one-week tournament, I’d still have the week after Madrid free.
“Ultimately, I’ll always defend one-week tournaments. I think you see the best tennis there, there’s more excitement: we saw that in Monte Carlo, where we had incredible matches on the first day.
“I think that’s also more appealing and better for people, attracting those who might not be used to watching tennis, so I’ll always prefer playing one-week tournaments.”
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Carlos Alcaraz’s record in one-week vs two-week Masters 1000 tournaments
There are nine Masters 1000 tournaments on the ATP Tour, with Indian Wells and the Miami Open being two-week events since 2004 and 1997, respectively.
They have been joined by five other tournaments since the expansion of Masters 1000 tournaments, with the Madrid Open, Italian Open and the Shanghai Masters becoming two-week events in 2023, while the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open were expanded to a fortnight in 2025.
While Alcaraz claims he much prefers one-week Masters 1000 tournaments, he actually has produced significantly better results at the two-week events.
This includes a higher percentage of both wins and titles, with Alcaraz’s two one-week tournament victories coming at the Madrid Open in 2022 and the Monte Carlo Masters in 2025.
However, it is worth noting that Alcaraz’s better results at two-week Masters 1000 tournaments is partly down to him improving since the expansion from one week events.
| Carlos Alcaraz’s record in Masters 1000 tournaments | One-week | Two-week |
| Win-loss Record | 28-14 (66.7%) | 65-13 (83.3%) |
| Titles Won | 2/16 (12.5%) | 6/19 (31.6%) |
Alcaraz’s next scheduled Masters 1000 tournament is the Madrid Open, which is the only tournament he has won as both a one-week and two-week event.
Before then, Alcaraz will focus on trying to win his third title at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona, which would enable him to return to world number one again.
Alcaraz’s next opponent at the Barcelona Open is Tomas Machac, who he actually lost to when they last played at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
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