Carlos Alcaraz’s “Unusual” Honesty About Nerves Surprises Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach

Carlos Alcaraz recently openly spoke about his struggles with nerves, which was a moment that left many surprised.

Alcaraz is one of the best young players in the history of the sport. At 21, he is already a four-time Grand Slam champion, and he also became the youngest-ever ATP World No. 1 player.

But in recent months, the Spaniard struggled to find consistency on the tennis courts. He won a title in Rotterdam, but he also lost in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Open, and shockingly also in his first match in Miami.

After his semi-final loss in Indian Wells, Alcaraz admitted that he struggled with nerves. It was a surprising admission, especially since he was the favorite in the match.

At the same time, it wasn’t the first time that the four-time major winner struggled with nerves. He famously had cramps during his match against Novak Djokovic at the French Open.

Alcaraz seems to be one of those players who struggle with nerves more than others, but his honest admission was still a surprise for Patrick Mouratoglou, who recently spoke to Tennis365.

“It was a choice for him to say that. I don’t know if it was good or not. If it helps him to take it out of his system to say it, to admit it, why not?”

“Most other players would not say it, that is his choice. We will see how he plays now after he has said this. We will see if he feels less pressure now that he has said this, that he admitted his weakness of that moment. Maybe the fact that he verbalised it will put more pressure on him, we’ll see. It is unusual to hear this.”

During the interview, Mouratoglou remembered that he had heard something similar before. Rafael Nadal used to admit to his struggles when he had unsuccessful periods.

“I don’t know if this is a Spanish thing, but I remember that Rafa had a period in his career when he was losing a lot of matches and he was saying that he kind of lost his mental strength, he admitted it.”

As a successful coach, Mouratoglou also experienced his players struggling with nerves and mental strength. He remembered the moment when Serena Williams struggled, but the American didn’t necessarily speak about it so openly.

“I was very surprised when he said this, actually, but then he came back to his true self and it shows that even the great players go through doubts at some points.”

“It was the same when I started with Serena. She had not won a Grand Slam for three years, she lost in the first round of Roland Garros and it was a difficult moment. Everyone goes through this at some point in their lives and their career.”