Alcaraz eyes full clay swing but repeats: “I will listen to my body much better this year”
After his loss at the Monte-Carlo final, Carlos Alcaraz could not confirm that he will play Barcelona, Madrid and Rome ahead of French Open, even though it remains his objective, provided his body allows it, which has rarely been the case in recent years. “Well, I don’t know, the main goal is to play the … Continued
Carlos Alcaraz, portrait, 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
After his loss at the Monte-Carlo final, Carlos Alcaraz could not confirm that he will play Barcelona, Madrid and Rome ahead of French Open, even though it remains his objective, provided his body allows it, which has rarely been the case in recent years.
“Well, I don’t know, the main goal is to play the full clay season calendar,” he said. “Let’s see how it’s gonna be. It was the goal last year as well, and unfortunately I couldn’t because I was injured.”
Alcaraz’s recent clay seasons underline the challenge. In 2023, he missed Monte-Carlo before reaching the semifinals of Roland-Garros, beaten by Novak Djokovic after struggling with cramps. In 2024, he played only in Madrid before going on to win the French Open. In 2025, he missed Madrid again after losing the Barcelona final while physically diminished, before winning Roland-Garros again.
If I’m gonna skip one, I will skip one tournament.
“We are touching wood and praying that nothing’s going to happen to my body,” Alcaraz said after a first third of the season without major issues. “I listen to my body much better than last year, for sure. If I’m gonna skip one, I will skip one tournament. If my body stays healthy, I’m going to do whatever it takes.”
Like Jannik Sinner, who has also left doubts over his participation in Madrid, Alcaraz has made it clear that his schedule will remain flexible — shaped week by week depending on how his body responds to the demands of clay, still the most physically taxing surface on tour.
Flexibility over rigidity
“If I don’t have any problems, I will play everything on clay. Let’s see how it’s gonna be in the next weeks. I don’t know if I’m gonna win matches, if I’m gonna lose in the first rounds, if the matches are going to be super demanding physically or not… but what I can tell right now is I will listen to my body much better this year than last year, for sure.”
Alcaraz is expected in Barcelona this week to play the ATP 500 event. His first opponent will be Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen, with a potential second-round meeting against Tomas Machac or Sebastian Baez.
