Rennae Stubbs says she’s spotted two issues in Carlos Alcaraz’s game which need sorting before the Australian Open

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Carlos Alcaraz can have very few complaints about his 2024 season, with his four ATP Tour titles including two Grand Slams.

Alcaraz has been backed to win a calendar Grand Slam next season, having won the French Open and Wimbledon last time out.

The Spaniard now boasts four Grand Slam titles aged just 21, with two Wimbledon titles and one each at the French Open and US Open.

Alcaraz only has the Australian Open left to win in terms of Grand Slams, with his best finish coming in this year’s quarter-final venture.

It was Alexander Zverev who knocked the Spaniard out in Melbourne, although the latter then enacted revenge with his final win in Roland Garros.

Rennae Stubbs spots two Carlos Alcaraz issues ahead of the Australian Open

Jannik Sinner meanwhile won the hard court Grand Slams in Australia and at the US Open, with Rennae Stubbs now sharing how she thinks Alcaraz can compete with the Italian at those events.

“It will be interesting to see how Carlos responds next year because obviously winning the French Open and Wimbledon is just unheard of,” she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

“It’s such a hard thing to do. But he has some question marks about playing on the hard courts against Sinner and Zverev, against these guys who have really big power.

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“There’s a couple of knocks I have on Carlos – and we are talking about a really high level. But I think he is not a big guy, he is like 5ft 10 or 5ft 11.

“He needs to develop a flatter serve. He needs to develop his serve a bit better and I think he needs to hit his spots better.

“Roger [Federer] wasn’t a big guy, but he could hit the corners like nobody else and I think Carlos needs to get his accuracy with his serving better and if he doesn’t hit the corners better he’s not getting free points.

“Jannik Sinner gets free point after free point, Zverev free point after free point with his big massive serve.

“So I think Alcaraz on a fast court like the US Open and Australian Open, he needs to get more accurate with the first serve. I also think he needs to get just a little bit better with his shot selection.”

Carlos Alcaraz working on serve in pre-season training

Alcaraz, who stands at 6ft 0, has already conquered all three surfaces, winning on hard courts, grass and clay.

But it was Sinner who dominated the hard courts in 2024, with seven of his eight titles this season coming on that surface.

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Alcaraz meanwhile won two of his four titles on hard courts, emerging victorious at Beijing and Indian Wells either side of his Grand Slam wins on clay and grass.

It remains to be seen if the pair will dominate the major tournaments once more in 2025, or whether a different face will emerge, either new or old.

Alcaraz has been working on his serve in pre-season training with Juan Carlos Ferrero, but an improvement may not be made in time for next month’s Australian Open.