Carlos Alcaraz ‘absolutely has to improve’ one thing to match Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev
Former Australian Open runner-up Arnaud Clement has assessed that Carlos Alcaraz “absolutely has to improve” his serve because it is “not a weapon.”
Alcaraz has been lauded for the completeness of his game since his emergence, but his serve has always been the one area with the most room for improvement.
The 21-year-old star made a change to his serve technique and adjusted his racket specifications in his preparations for the 2025 season.
During the Australian Open, Alcaraz spoke about the importance of making tweaks.
“Of course, you have to change things. Jannik [Sinner] has said the same thing, that he changed things in the preseason that perhaps we can’t see, but he feels that they’re different,” the world No 3 said.
“To always be at the top you have to keep adapting to what’s demanded of you and changing little things to be better or just as competitive.”
On his new serve, Alcaraz added: “We knew that the serve was something I had to improve, we had to do something. It had to be more accurate and I wasn’t managing to do that.
“The new movement is a little more relaxed, quite a lot more relaxed, with a looser wrist to try and improve my timing and there’s no pause when the racquet gets to the top, it’s all more fluid.
Carlos Alcaraz News
Carlos Alcaraz’s Rotterdam hopes candidly assessed as concerns outlined by former star
‘Something needs to change’ – Carlos Alcaraz highlights tennis issue causing ‘many injuries’
“That also affects a few things during matches, for example, I’m not so tense, which can take its toll physically.”
Speaking to Eurosport, Clement, who reached a career-high ranking of world No 10, made his feelings on Alcaraz’s serve clear.
“I know he has worked a lot on this shot recently by modifying his technique, but we have not yet seen the effects of this work, particularly on the Australian Open,” the Frenchman said.
“In fact, for the moment, it is not a weapon in his game as it is the case for Alexander Zverev or Jannik Sinner. He absolutely has to improve this to give himself free points.
“The good news is that he knows it, that he is really looking to find a solution. When you are in this process, in general, you manage to find the key.”
Alcaraz is currently in action at the Rotterdam Open, where he is facing Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori in the second round.
READ NEXT: The 10 active players with most weeks in Top 10 of ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic with 876
