Carlos Alcaraz doesn't have a very good record on indoor hard courts, and he explained what he finds so difficult about the conditions after his recent loss at the 2024 ATP Finals.
Obviously, Alcaraz is one of the best players in the world. He has won a major on the hard court, on grass, and on clay as well. He also has ATP Masters 1000 trophies on both clay and hard and an ATP 500 title on grass, showing that he can adapt extremely well to all sorts of different conditions.
Well, almost. On indoor hard courts, the young Spaniard is yet to find his best level, and that was demonstrated also by his recent loss to Ugo Humbert at the Paris Masters.
Although, in theory, the conditions should suit him, there just seems to be something that the 21-year-old is not able to figure out. His coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, even installed a court similar to the one used at the ATP Finals at their training facility for Alcaraz to better prepare for the 2024 ATP Finals.
Still, the World No. 3 lost his opening match to Casper Ruud in two sets. However, the Spaniard wasn't entirely to blame. He has struggled with sickness at the tournament, preventing him from reaching his top level.
Regardless, Alcaraz was asked after his loss to Ruud, 1-6, 5-7, why he thinks that he can't succeed on the indoor hard courts the same way he was able to succeed on grass, clay, or outdoor hard courts.
According to the four-time major winner, his lack of success on indoor hard courts could be attributed to the fact that he hasn't played many matches in those conditions.
Although he had plenty of practice sessions, such as those on the court installed by his coach, matches are still different, and that's something that Alcaraz misses. Unfortunately for him, every early exit from an event makes it much harder for him to get multiple consecutive matches under his belt.
"I have no experience playing on indoor courts. I could practice a lot on indoor courts, but I have not matches in my back on indoor courts. So I don't know. I have to be better on this part of the year that we play on indoor courts. I don't know."
Despite his lack of success on indoor hard courts early on in his tennis career, Alcaraz is an extremely confident tennis player, and he's also confident in his ability to overcome this and become a good player in those conditions.
The Spaniard thinks that he's not a bad player indoors but that he just needs more time to become a very good player who will start winning trophies regularly indoors.
"I'll be a really good player on indoor courts, I'm sure about it. But I think it's about time, about getting experience, getting matches in my back, hitting on indoor courts."
"I don't feel that I'm a bad player indoors. Probably I'm going to say a lot of players are better than me on indoor court. I don't know. I can't answer as good as I wanted to this question."