Carlos Alcaraz did not hide his mental fatigue after losing to Casper Ruud on Monday at the 2024 ATP Finals.
The tennis calendar is always lengthy, putting a mental and physical toll on the players. But this year was even more grueling because of the Olympics being held at Roland-Garros a few weeks after Wimbledon.
Many players have expressed opposition to the schedule's length. Iga Swiatek feels there could be long-term damage to players unless something changes, while Alexander Zverev bluntly accused the ATP of not caring about players.
Alcaraz is one of those who feels the calendar should be shortened. The four-time Grand Slam champion feels some of the joy of playing tennis is lost because of mental and physical fatigue. One of the biggest stars in the sport saying this should be taken seriously.
Unfortunately for Alcaraz, he is not just mentally tired at the ATP Finals. Before the season-ending tournament began, he picked up an illness that impacted him in his opening match against Casper Ruud.
After losing to the Norwegian, Alcaraz cut a practice session on Tuesday short after just 10 minutes of not hitting at a very high level. The 21-year-old and his team looked concerned as he left the court.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz's coach, gave an update afterward about his player's chances of being fit for the match against Andrey Rublev, but he will not be at 100% regardless due to the illness.
A combination of physical illness and mental fatigue is a challenging combination for Alcaraz to navigate at the ATP Finals. The Spaniard discussed being mentally tired in his press conference after losing to Ruud.
"I dare to say that every player are tired mentally. If someone say that he is fresh, he is lying. Some players deal with it better than others. I'm tired. I'm tired mentally. Obviously a lot of matches, really tight schedule, really demanding year with not too many days off, not too many period of you could rest."
"It's kind of you finish one week or you finish a swing, you only two or three days off and then you have to go to other tournaments to other parts of the world. Since the beginning of the year you're accumulating hours, days. You come into this part of year tired."
"As I said many, many times, I think this year I'm much better than last year, but I have to find the way to performance and deliver a good tennis being tired mentally."
While it is good that Alcaaz is dealing better with the mental battle that many players experience late in the season, complaints about the schedule undoubtedly grew this season, and players' concerns might be even higher in 2025.
The intensity of the ATP and WTA Tours nowadays makes the schedule more intense for players than previously. Balls on the ATP Tour, in particular, are slower than they used to be, meaning matches last even longer, something that Daniil Medvedev said has impacted his motivation.