Carlos Alcaraz is thrilling to watch on the tennis court, but his game comes with wild swings that might just be part of his DNA, according to tennis legend Mats Wilander.
At just 21, Alcaraz has already claimed four Grand Slam titles. He’s also made history as the youngest man ever to reach the world No. 1 ranking.
But lately, things haven’t been clicking for the young Spanish star.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| es Carlos Alcaraz | 21 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
His struggles hit rock bottom at the Miami Open where he crashed out to David Goffin in his opening match.
Alcaraz has always been a player of extremes – capable of jaw-dropping brilliance one moment and head-scratching errors the next. Recently though, that gap between his best and worst tennis seems to be widening.
Wilander, himself a former world No. 1 who found early success in his career, believes this rollercoaster performance level isn’t just a phase for Alcaraz.
“I think Carlos Alcaraz is going through what Carlos Alcaraz will be going through for the rest of his career, which is that there are going to be inconsistencies,” Wilander told TNT Sports.
He sees Alcaraz’s game as fundamentally volatile.
“He’s going to pull off some miracles at times, and then those miracles are going to help him win matches, and he’s going to pull off miracles at different times, and he’s not going to win the match in the end.”
The Swedish tennis great pointed to Alcaraz’s surprising loss to Jack Draper as particularly unusual for someone of his caliber.
“But obviously, if you lose the result against Jack Draper, the way that it happened is very weird for a top player. But I do think in the end, Carlos Alcaraz is going to be quite inconsistent in terms of results. We’re so used to not seeing a former world No. 1 and most probably a future world No. 1 to be that inconsistent.”
Despite these concerns, Wilander isn’t counting Alcaraz out at the upcoming French Open.
The Spaniard will arrive in Paris as the defending champion, and Wilander thinks lightning could strike twice.
“Well, he can bounce back at any time. That’s the thing about Carlos Alcaraz. He could bounce back within two weeks because of the way he plays tennis,” Wilander explained.
“Even though he won the French Open last year, I’m not sure clay is his best surface, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he goes and wins the French Open again, and does a repeat, because that’s the quality that he brings.”
Wilander believes Alcaraz’s biggest consistency issues might come outside the major tournaments.
“I’m just saying that I think these results will happen here and there. Unfortunately, they have been happening in some Grand Slam tournaments. But I do think it’s more in the regular tournaments that Carlos Alcaraz will have problems and I do think that he will bounce back and do well at the French Open.”
