Carlos Alcaraz’s role as one of tennis’ most popular and entertaining players has both its positives and negatives.
On one hand, the Spaniard is adored wherever he goes, and celebrated for his sensational play style and the smile he wears whilst doing it.
However, on the other hand, it makes him relentlessly sought-after and gives him little time to actually rest.
With that in mind, it’s worth noting that, at times, Carlos Alcaraz does not help himself.
That is what has now been suggested by Greg Rusedski, while questioning his exhibition matches this year.
Carlos Alcaraz sent a warning by former British number one
Speaking on the Off Court with Greg podcast, the former British number one was keen to explain how Alcaraz’s tendency to accept alternative proposals might not be a good thing.
After all, while his finances will thank him, his body will not, with Rusedski using Jannik Sinner and the Big Three as shining examples of how best to go about one’s career.
Who would you like to see coach Carlos Alcaraz next?
The pundit argued: “Take the example of Jannik Sinner. He has retired from the final stages of the Davis Cup and does not participate in any exhibition matches. He is preparing for the new season.
“When Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic were at the top, we did not see them participating in many exhibition matches.
“The off-season is a crucial time of the year to prepare for the new season, but Carlos is at an age where he thinks he can continue and that nothing will happen to him. This may not be the case.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s comments on the tennis schedule
It is strange that Alcaraz has arguably been one of the sport’s most active players during this off-season, given he has also been one of the schedule’s biggest detractors over the years too.
Whilst Iga Swiatek complains about the tennis calendar regularly, she sticks by her word.
Meanwhile, as recently as October, the Spaniard stated: “I don’t have an exact number of matches we should play, I can’t give an exact figure, but they obviously need to do something about the schedule. The number of tournaments we have to play is too high.
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“We don’t have enough time to train and rest. Even during the season, I think it’s week after week and we don’t have the chance to have a week to prepare well for the tournaments or what awaits us in the season.”
Given he has already played in two exhibitions this month alone, and is due to compete in the Australian Open’s gimmicky pre-tournament event too, it does weaken Alcaraz’s stance a little.
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