WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz vents his fury at US Open chiefs after on-court incident
Carlos Alcaraz rarely loses his cool on court, but he was not happy with the presence of microphones on the court as he staged his practice session at the US Open on Friday.
Alcaraz is looking to win a second title in New York and is seeded to meet his great rival Jannik Sinner in the final at Flushing Meadows, in what would be a third successive Grand Slam final contested by the two kings of men’s tennis.
There are plenty of hurdles for the duo to navigate before that happens and Alcaraz had an unexpected problem that affected his hitting session in the New York sunshine.
The normally placid Alcaraz was not impressed when he realised there were microphones listening in to the conversations he was having with his coaching team as he prepared for his first round match against American big server Reilly Opelka.
Alcaraz was caught on the cameras appearing to question why they were recording what he was saying, with his manager Albert Molina on hand to listen to his concerns.
The world No 2 would have been concerns that some of his rivals were listening into his tactical planning and he had every right to question why the US Open officials needed to record not just his practice session but also pick up on what he was saying with his coaching team.
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Alcaraz has been handed a nightmare draw at the US Open, with the dangerous Opelka in round one and former Flushing Meadows champion Daniil Medvedev his potential opponent in round three.
Big servers Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz are also in his section of the draw, but former world No 1 Mats Wilander is convinced Alcaraz can seal another meeting with his great rival Sinner in the final.
Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t seem to be a fan of the practice cams
I get it. Why are there microphones on them? Doesn’t that make it possible for potential opponents to hear tactics being discussed in certain areas?
It’s already invasive, turn the mics off.pic.twitter.com/yn2qEJWX7n
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) August 22, 2025
“I think the storyline is Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for a few more Grand Slam tournaments,” said Wilander, who will be part of the Eurosport team covering the US Open.
“I believe we’re seeing two players that will fight for most probably 15 Grand Slam finals before they’re done, at least. They’re that good. And at the moment, they’re that much better than everybody else. So, I think the storyline is still Jannik Sinner – can he get to the finals against Carlos Alcaraz? And will we see another great match like we saw at the French Open? That’s the storyline, at least for this tournament, and most probably until sometime next year.
“If Sinner and Alcaraz keep playing finals like they did at the French Open, then it’s possible that they will get to a higher level than Federer and Nadal. In terms of the level of the play – tennis has never been played at a higher level than how the Roland-Garros final this year was played.
“But that puts a lot of pressure and expectations on both Sinner and Alcaraz for them to be able to do that again and again, and again, because that’s what it’s gonna take for them to become more important than Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. It was amazing to watch the two of them.
“I don’t think it’s boring that they are getting to the finals every time. No, I’m expecting and waiting for another great final, or another great match, because they have played so many great matches in the last few years that the excitement level is so high when they face each other.”
Alcaraz will play his first match against Opelka in the night session on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday.
Watch the US Open on Eurosport and HBO Max
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