Alcaraz: Breaks like Ibiza key to staying fresh and having success
The Spaniard won his fifth title of 2025 by taking the Queen’s title on Sunday, having had a few days in Ibiza after his Roland-Garros triumph
© Javier Garcia/Shutterstock/SIPA
When Carlos Alcaraz arrived at London’s Queen’s Club and revealed that he had spent much of the previous week in Ibiza, it caused a bit of a stir.
But for the 22-year-old Spaniard, it was the ideal way for him to recover, rest and recuperate from his Roland-Garros heroics to even be able to be competitive at Queen’s. Close to his family, he needed that time and familiarity to get him in a place where he could get back on the horse. It worked.
On Sunday, he completed the perfect week with his second Queen’s title in three years, beating Jiri Lehecka in three sets to win his 21st title and fifth of the year. He’s the first man to win the French Open and Queen’s in the same year since Rafael Nadal in 2008 (when Queen’s still began the day after Roland-Garros) and breaks, with family and friends, are what helps him stay on top.
“I’m a player who needs days, days off to enjoy, days for myself to spend with my friends, with my family, just to turn off my mind,” he said. “I need that, and the good thing is that I know that.
“The days in Ibiza helped me a lot, just to feel like I’m not a tennis player, just to enjoy life a little bit with my friends, have fun, enjoy those days, and then come back to the court with more energy, I mean, be more hungry to play again.”
“I had so much hate when I lost in Miami”
Alcaraz will now build toward Wimbledon, which starts on June 30. The 22-year-old played with a smile on his face throughout the week at Queen’s but said it took a big effort to do that having received criticism earlier in the year.
“I had so much hate when I lost in Miami,” he said. “Instead of practice after that, I took a break and I went to Cancun with my family. And I had too much hate then, because a lot of people started to say, what’s going on with this guy that he just lost in the first round, and he didn’t practice, he didn’t go to the court and keep practicing just to be better?
“I think that was the key, just to have five, six days off, not grabbing a racquet, not stepping on the court. Just go to vacation with my family, to turn off my mind, to think what should I have done better?
“That was the key. After the vacation that I had in Cancun with my family, I just got the joy back, and I started to enjoy playing tennis again, to enjoy step on the court, competing again. And I think that was the key, to have my days with my family and realising what is the most important thing for me.”
