Carlos Alcaraz told he has an advantage over his ATP rivals until the end of the season
After a four and a half month absence on the ATP Tour in 2026, Carlos Alcaraz has truly returned to tennis.
The star reached the quarterfinals of the US Open on his maiden tournament back and he followed it up by helping Team Europe win the Laver Cup.
He’s now performing at his very ATP tournament since the injury, at the Japan Open, where he is the defending champion.
Alcaraz began his campaign with a victory against Alex Michelsen, although he needed three sets in order to knock the American out of the event.
Several top seeds fell out of the Japan Open first round, including Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz, Brandon Nakashima, Rafael Jodar, and Casper Ruud.
There tends to be a bit of a hangover at the start of the ATP’s Asian swing, due to the travel and the gruelling nature of the calendar up to this point.
More Carlos Alcaraz news
Carlos Alcaraz provided instant Japan Open boost after beating Alex Michelsen
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz send messages to Kei Nishikori as he retires from tennis
Annabel Croft believes that could play into Alcaraz’s hands this year, as he has not played as much tennis as any of his ATP Tour rivals.
“Normally by this time of the season, there’s a lot of players trying to get their extra points up on the rankings ahead of next year also heading toward end of season championships as well,” said Croft on Sky Sports Tennis during Alcaraz’s clash with Michelsen.
“But a lot of players are often exhausted, they’ve expended so much physical energy as well as the mental side of things. But Alcaraz is going to be very, very fresh.”
Alcaraz is expected to play a full calendar from now until the end of the year in an attempt to re-join the top two in the ATP Tour rankings.
Following the Japan Open, Alcaraz is expected to play the Shanghai Masters, which is the penultimate Masters event on the ATP Tour calendar.
Alcaraz didn’t play the Shanghai Masters last year, so he has essentially a free hit in his quest to add as many ranking points as possible before the end of the year.
The world No 3 will then head to the Six Kings Slam to play the Saudi Arabia exhibition event, before heading to the European indoor hardcourt swing.
Alcaraz will undoubtedly play the Paris Masters, but it is currently unclear if he will fit an ATP 500 event prior to that in Vienna or Basel.
Following that, Alcaraz will likely play the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals to round off his year, so there is plenty of tennis for the Spaniard to play before the break.
