Carlos Alcaraz had a very interesting routine at the 2023 Roland Garros and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero explained why.
Alcaraz has been playing really well since he broke out basically. Slowly but surely Alcaraz worked his way to a great level and eventually he even became world number one. It's the same rank he occupies right now as the Roland Garros is going on.
Alcaraz's tennis is a very aggressive one as he plays with a lot of power and hits the ball really hard. It's something that hasn't been the case always in tennis but the newer generations generally play very aggressive tennis. Alcaraz is among them but that playstyle can also have drawbacks.
Many don't consider a style that you can sustain for a long period of time, like a decade, without risking injury. Alcaraz's himself already had a few injuries which some attributed to the way he plays tennis. It's hard to pinpoint whether that is true or not but there might be something to it if you carefully read the words of Juan Carlos Ferrero.
In a press conference, the former player confirmed that Alcaraz sometimes doesn't practice on off days as both he and the player feel like it's better to use that way to recover properly. Could it be that Alcaraz feels more fatigue or could be a precaution? It's tough to say but that's how they are doing things.
No, we are hitting today, yeah. Let's say sometimes when we think that we need a day off to recover better or, yeah, like this, we do it. It's not a matter of injuries or other reasons. We've been doing that for a long time. Maybe this tournament comes more often, but it's a coincidence. It's not a normal thing, but sometimes we think it's best for him to stay fresh and recover.
Considering how well Alcaraz performed so far in his career it seemed to be working. What was the saying? If it ain't broke don't fix it.