Sport
Carlos Alcaraz’s schedule criticised following his withdrawal from the Madrid Open
After quitting from the 2025 Madrid Open, Carlos Alcaraz received little sympathy from former French Open winner Adriano Panatta. The Italian believes he and his team are guilty of poor scheduling.
Alcaraz made his clay court debut in the 2025 Monte-Carlo Masters. He won his first title at the competition, defeating Lorenzo Musetti in the final after losing the first set.
Rather than take a week off before the Madrid Open, Alcaraz elected to compete at the 2025 Barcelona Open. The Spaniard reached another final, but was denied a third title in Barcelona by Holger Rune.
Alcaraz struggled with an injury against Rune. Although the four-time Grand Slam champion initially expected to be fit for the event in Madrid, further scans revealed a more severe groin injury than initially thought, and he withdrew.
During the Barcelona Open, before he was injured, Alcaraz criticized the two-week combined ATP and WTA 1000-level tournaments and stated that he preferred the one-week format used at the Monte Carlo Masters and Paris Masters.
Panatta does not think Alcaraz has a valid point. The 1976 winner at Roland Garros believes Alcaraz’s initial plan to play every week until one week before this year’s iteration of the French Open was flawed and his own fault.
“He certainly disappointed in Barcelona. Then I read that the Spaniard complains about the Masters 1000 that last two weeks, but let’s look carefully at his program. After Monte Carlo, he went to Barcelona, then he [was planning to] do Madrid, Rome and Paris without interruption.”
“Let’s think about it: is it a calendar problem or a programming problem because he always plays? I think that the goal for tennis players at this level should be the four Grand Slam tournaments and then another seven to eight important tournaments among the various Masters 1000. They should focus only on those.”
Panatta thinks injuries are becoming more prevalent among players who compete so often because of the incredible speed and intensity of the modern game, placing an unsustainable strain on figures like Alcaraz.
“You can’t always play and you can’t do every tournament at your best. Not even someone like Alcaraz who has an incredible physique can do it. Furthermore, these players get hurt often and it happens because they hit too hard and move at incredible speeds.”
Although fans worldwide love watching Alcaraz as often as possible, Panatta’s words are entirely understandable. They might seem quite blunt, but he is correct that the four-time Grand Slam champion does not need to play so often.
The Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open are not mandatory events. Alcaraz could have chosen to begin his clay-court season at the Madrid Open or select only one of the tournaments in Monte Carlo or Barcelona.
Alcaraz has expressed dissatisfaction with the ATP schedule over the past year. However, he must accept personal responsibility for playing too much on clay, which can lead to injuries. His participation in the 2025 Italian Open, where Jannik Sinner will return from a three-month suspension, is uncertain.
