Alcaraz's Off-Season Exhibitions 'A Bit Of A Red Flag' Says 17-Time Major Champion
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Carlos Alcaraz has been criticized by doubles legend Mark Woodforde for choosing to play in exhibitions during the off-season.
Alcaraz competed in two exhibitions last month. The first was against Ben Shelton at Madison Square Garden. He won that contest from a set down after an entertaining match in front of a packed stadium of supporters.
The second exhibition was against Frances Tiafoe in Charlotte. Despite not being an official ATP match, Tiafoe produced inspired tennis to overcome Alcaraz in front of a home American crowd.
Although an official amount was not released, a guest on the podcast of Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, estimated that Alcaraz earned somewhere between $1 million and $2 million for the exhibition against Shelton.
No estimate was made for the second exhibition, but it was probably a similarly eye-watering amount. Collecting such a significant paycheck is almost certainly the primary reason Alcaraz chose to participate in the exhibitions.
However, the Spaniard's decision to fly to the U.S. for two exhibitions also caused controversy. Alcaraz was one of several players who repeatedly complained throughout the season about the ATP calendar being too lengthy.
Some believe Alcaraz is a hypocrite for opposing the length of the tennis calendar but then not using the off-season to rest and recover for the new season. ATP president Andrea Gaudenzi told the four-time Grand Slam champion and other unhappy players they could play in fewer exhibitions.
Taylor Fritz, this year's US Open runner-up, was among those who defended Alcaraz. The world No. 4 argues that the intensity of an exhibition cannot be compared to ATP tournaments and can feel like a break for players.
Woodforde is among those who did not like Alcaraz competing in those exhibitions. The Australian told Tennis365 that resting and preparing for the new season would have been better, and he is not a fan of going to exhibitions during the off-season.
"My only concern during the off-season was Alcaraz’s decision to fly to America to play some exhibition matches. That was a bit of a red flag for me. After playing in those matches, it will be interesting to see how he kicks off the season after that decision. To travel to the US and play some matches when he could have been resting and preparing, I was not a big fan of the exhibitions he played.”
Woodforde thinks Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, not being present at the Australian Open last year contributed to his quarterfinal defeat to Alexander Zverev, but he expects the 21-year-old to do well in 2025 in Melbourne.
"I don’t think he is the complete player yet, and we saw that at the Australian Open last year. The impact of not having Juan Carlos Ferrero with him in Australia last year was significant, as Carlito’s coach missed that event after undergoing knee surgery."
“He has been the rock in Alcaraz’s camp and I didn’t like the way he was playing his matches in Juan Carlos’s absence in Australia. He ended up losing against Alexander Zverev with what I would describe as an unusual performance that went against a player who was a little battle-weary."
