Around this time last year, after Carlos Alcaraz had won the Monte Carlo Masters, he suffered from significant fatigue.
It contributed to his loss in the Barcelona Open final, and also saw him withdrawn from the Madrid Open too.
He will be keen to ensure he does not repeat the mistakes of the past in 2026, and having enjoyed yet another run to the final in Monte Carlo this year, that fear is valid.
Fortunately, speaking at his press conference straight after yesterday’s clash with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz has revealed his plans going forward.
Carlos Alcaraz reveals schedule plans after Monte Carlo Masters
He began by making an announcement that will be music to the ears of his fans: “The main goal is to play the full clay season calendar.”
Alcaraz then explained the difficulties that entail, and how he might mitigate any physical frailties he suffers during a gruelling period of the tennis schedule.
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The Spaniard added: “It was the goal last year as well, and unfortunately, I couldn’t because of an injury.
“So we’re touching good and praying that nothing is going to happen to my body. So I’m going to heal my body much better than last year for sure.
“If I’m going to skip one, I will skip one tournament. If my body stays healthy, I’m going to do whatever it takes to be healthy and take care of my body. And if I don’t have any problems, I will play everything on clay.
“Let’s see how it’s going to be in the next weeks. I don’t know how it’s going to be — the matches, if I’m going to win matches, if I’m going to lose in the first rounds, if the matches are going to be super demanding physically or not. So I don’t know how it’s going to be.
“But what I can tell right now is I will heal my body much better than last year for sure.”
Carlos Alcaraz faces new challenge in the clay-court season this year
Last year, when Alcaraz won nearly every clay-court event he entered, he was barely challenged on his way to the titles.
However, 2025 was missing one crucial element that always provides resistance to his dominance: Sinner.
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Serving his three-month suspension, the 24-year-old was forced to miss all but two events on this surface, and upon his return, he was not as prepared as he could have been to truly topple Alcaraz.
This year, the seven-time Grand Slam champion is faced with the new threat of facing an in-form and well-prepared Sinner on clay, a surface that he is clearly only getting better on.
It will be intriguing to see how he deals with this, with added incentive after Sinner took the world number one spot from Alcaraz after beating him in the Monte Carlo Masters.
