Carlos Alcaraz’s early Miami Open exit could be a positive thing, suggests Boris Becker

Ewan West 24 Mar 2026 5:30 PM

Carlos Alcaraz with Boris Becker inset

Tennis legend Boris Becker has reacted to Carlos Alcaraz’s surprise early exit at the 2026 Miami Open and suggested he feels it could be a positive for the Spaniard.

Alcaraz was beaten 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 by world No 36 Sebastian Korda in the third round at the Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

It was only Alcaraz’s second loss before the final of a tournament in the last 12 months following his defeat to Cameron Norrie in his opening match at the Paris Masters in October.

Prior to that loss to Norrie, the world No 1’s previous defeat before a final came at the 2025 Miami Open — where he was upset in his opening match by David Goffin.

Alcaraz won his first 16 matches in 2026 in a run that saw him secure the Australian Open and Qatar Open titles before reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells, where his streak was ended by Daniil Medvedev.

In a post on X/Twitter responding to a tweet about Alcaraz’s defeat, Becker referenced how the Spaniard performed after his early exit in Miami last year.

Becker, a six-time major champion and former world No 1, wrote: “Remember last year same time, Carlos took time out and went to Mexico with his family to recharge… guess it worked out !”

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Alcaraz’s sensational run after the 2025 Miami Open

After losing to Goffin in Miami in March 2025, Alcaraz went on a remarkable run that saw him reach nine consecutive finals, winning seven titles.

Between April and September, Alcaraz won the Monte Carlo Masters, the Italian Open, the French Open, the Queen’s Club Championships, the Cincinnati Masters, the US Open and the Japan Open, while he was a runner-up at the Barcelona Open and Wimbledon.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner was also a finalist at the ATP Finals in November, and he finished what was a career-best season as the world No 1.

Boris Becker’s comments on Carlos Alcaraz before Indian Wells

Speaking prior to the Indian Wells Masters in early March, Becker dismissed claims that Alcaraz was “unbeatable” after the 22-year-old’s stunning start to 2026.

“Well, nobody is unbeatable. We all have good days and bad days,” said the German.

“He is clearly number one, but a year ago, you would have said that about [Jannik] Sinner, right? So, things can happen in sport, it’s always very unpredictable.”