Carlos Alcaraz's Coach Reveals Secrets Behind His Rapid Improvement On Indoor Courts
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Carlos Alcaraz struggled on the indoor hardcourts before, but he breezed past everyone at the 2025 Rotterdam Open, winning the title. His coach, Samuel Lopez, explained the changes they made.
The Spaniard lost already in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic. That was undoubtedly a disappointing result for Alcaraz, and he wanted to forget it in Rotterdam.
But the odds were stacked against him. Not only was Alcaraz sick, but he had never performed well on the indoor hardcourts. On top of that, he could have played against a specialist on such courts, Felix Auger-Aliassime, in the second round of the tournament.
Ultimately, the 21-year-old player overcame all of these challenges, and he ended the week in Rotterdam with a trophy in his hands. It was a great week at the ATP 500 event, and some changes needed to be made to make success a possibility for Alcaraz.
His coach, Samuel Lopez, who was present in the Netherlands with the ATP World No. 3 player, spoke about what he and Alcaraz's other coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, have been working on in recent months.
Lopez spoke to Eurosport and explained that for Alcaraz, the most important thing is to remain himself. He can't invent the wheel again, and sometimes, it's as easy as sticking to the basics.
"We have put a lot of emphasis on him being himself. Being very clear about what he has to do, his routines, his attitude, being above all else. Worrying a lot about that and not so much about tennis, and then building Carlos Alcaraz. He is achieving this."
"It is one of the objectives we set ourselves in the preseason. Things are not easy, but we have taken another step this week. We have to continue along this line. He is not at an advanced age, because he is very young, but he does have some tennis experiences in which he has to get to know himself more and more."
On top of that, Alcaraz worked also on some specific shots. His serve seemed to be his biggest weakness in 2024, which is why he has worked on it during the off-season.
At the same time, Lopez and Ferrero also tried addressing Alcaraz's other big problem, which is his often-discussed mentality. Although he's already a four-time Grand Slam champion, the youngster sometimes seems to be afraid of the big matches, which his team tried working on.
"There are some technical improvements that were already seen in Australia with the serve and the return. In tennis you always evolve technically, but above all the evolution must be at a mental level."
"At a level of concentration, of being yourself, of having a clear identity. Don't be afraid of losing, but if you do lose, do it playing as you play and convinced of what you do."
Alcaraz and his team will now move to Doha for the 2025 Qatar Open after a successful week in Rotterdam. This time, the likes of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic should be part of the draw as well.
