'Mental Scar Tissue' Reason For Alcaraz's Big Schedule Change In 2025 Says Former ATP Player
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Carlos Alcaraz changed his schedule quite drastically for the 2025 season, and it could be because of "mental scar tissue," according to Steve Johnson.
The Spaniard is a player who can play well anywhere. Of course, like any other player, Alcaraz thrives in some conditions more than in others, but at the end of the day, he's a player who can do well anywhere and anytime.
In the previous seasons, Alcaraz chose to compete at the Golden Swing. That meant playing at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires as well as the Rio Open.
In 2025, however, the four-time Grand Slam champion changed his schedule quite significantly. Instead of competing on the clay courts in South America, he chose to play on the indoor hardcourts in Europe.
Alcaraz signed up to play at the 2025 Rotterdam Open, where he reached the final. In fact, it was his first indoor hardcourt final, showing how rare it was for him to compete in such conditions before.
However, conditions might not be the reason that the 21-year-old considers as much when choosing a tournament, at least according to Steve Johnson and John Isner, who talked about him during the latest episode of their Nothing Major Podcast.
According to Johnson, Alcaraz can pick any tournament he wants, regardless of the surface, as he can perform well on all of the surfaces.
"He doesn't pick a tournament because he's going to be better on one surface like most of us would pick in that scenario! He can win any tournament, any surface, any country, you name it."
However, the former American player, who reached the World No. 21 rank on the ATP Tour, thinks that Alcaraz's experience from last year's Golden Swing impacted his decision.
The Spaniard rolled his ankle, which put him out of action for some time. Not long after that, it was announced that he wouldn't be playing the Golden Swing in 2025.
"But maybe he has a little mental scar tissue. He did roll his ankle down in the south of the Golden Swing last year."
"Maybe that's on his mind. He doesn't wanna get hurt again, which is, I would say, a silly reason not to go, but for him, it just doesn't matter! He has picked his schedule a year ago at this point. It's not like he just picked to go to Rotterdam six weeks ago."
Isner agreed with Johnson, especially when it came to the fact that Alcaraz can choose to play on any surface, and he would still do well. At the end of the day, he proved that also in Rotterdam by reaching the final on his debut.
"He can play on all surfaces. But I don't think he's better on clay than he is indoor hard. I think you're splitting hairs if you would say one surface is better than the others."
