Former ATP player and current tennis analyst Alex Corretja wants Carlos Alcaraz to control his schedule better.
Alcaraz has dealt with many injuries in his young career, and while none have been significant, it's also cause for concern. If an athlete is injury-prone at a young age, there is a pretty good chance that they will remain so for the rest of their career.
With time, some players find what works for them and what doesn't and largely avoid that, which is also the hope for Alcaraz. He's a hard worker, so he'll do everything he possibly can to save himself from that fate, but that's not always enough.
No one wants to see a 21-year-old player managing how he plays, which the Spaniard has done with the forearm issue in recent weeks. In fact, only in his last match against Sebastian Korda, he felt comfortable enough to hit his forehand with full power.
That's not something fans want to see, as they want to see players going all-out, and it's why his compatriot, Corretja, is urging him to take care of the schedule.
"I was playing 30 matches a year, he's playing 60 plus the finals of Slams and Masters at his age. He's winning titles all the way, and became world No.1, so it's totally different with the pressure he's feeling and the desire to become even better."
Corretja has a fair point because Alcaraz is generally playing a lot of matches, and that's not necessarily by design. He's just so good and goes deep in most events he plays, so even if he plays only a dozen tournaments, he can get close to 50 matches per year.
It's certainly something he should keep an eye on in the coming years, no matter how strong his body is.
"He grew up so fast and he developed his body very strong very soon. That's why he got some injuries, because otherwise, maybe he wouldn't still be No.1."
"If he had slowly developed, maybe he would've been around No.15, but as he got there so quickly, it's normal what happened to him. "He needs to control the schedule, which will be key in his career."
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