Carlos Alcaraz Provides Important Health Update After Struggling With Illness In Rotterdam
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Carlos Alcaraz won in the opening round of the 2025 Rotterdam Open despite not feeling his best. The ATP world No. 3 updated fans about the illness he managed after the match.
Alcaraz defeated Botic van de Zandschulp to secure a maiden victory in Rotterdam. The triumph was important for the Spaniard because he infamously lost his previous singles match to the Dutchman at the US Open.
Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof also defeated Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers in the deciding match of Team Spain's quarterfinal tie against Team Netherlands in the 2024 Davis Cup, which ended Rafael Nadal's legendary career.
The 21-year-old did not allow feeling unwell to stop him from triumphing against van de Zandschulp this time. Alcaraz picked up a cold after the 2025 Australian Open and has been recovering since.
After the match, Alcaraz explained how he became ill again to those who had not heard his comments before the tournament began and said that was why he had a nasal strip during the contest.
"I’m not feeling 100 per cent well yet. I caught a cold when I was at home, but I’m feeling better every day. It (the nasal strip) is for my health."
This is not the first time that Alcaraz has worn a nasal strip. He also did so during the 2024 ATP Finals because of an illness that significantly hampered his chances of succeeding. Alcaraz was eliminated in the round-robin phase.
Although the four-time Grand Slam champion seems less ill than at last year's ATP Finals, he was definitely not near his best. Van de Zandschulp missed an opportunity to defeat Alcaraz again, this time in front of a home crowd.
Alcaraz will face Andrea Vavassori. On paper, he would be expected to win easily against an opponent ranked outside the Top 100. The Italian reached the round of 16 after 2025 Montpellier Open champion Felix Auger-Aliassime retired after the second set with an injury.
While Alcaraz would never admit it publicly, he might be relieved to face Vavassori instead of Auger-Aliassime because the Canadian is among the best indoor hard-court players in the world when he plays his best tennis.
Auger-Aliassime also won the 2025 Adelaide International before the Australian Open began. Starting the season with two titles meant he had the potential to cause Alcaraz problems in Rotterdam.
However, how challenging Alcaraz finds his matches against any opponent greatly depends on how he feels. Winning the Rotterdam Open title could be very challenging if he does not fully recover from his illness.
It would be especially hard for Alcaraz in Rotterdam because he has been least successful at indoor tournaments throughout his career so far. All of the former ATP world No. 1's titles to date have been at outdoor events.
Daniil Medvedev's latest meltdown was another notable moment from the Rotterdam Open. He blew up at the umpire and called him rubbish after being given a controversial time violation.
The 2021 US Open champion may have been feeling stressed after splitting with Gilles Simon before the ATP 500 tournament began.
