What tournaments could Alcaraz skip in the future?

Carlos Alcaraz is the man of the moment at the US Open. His return after his wrist injury has excited the tennis world, although after one of his victories in the tournament, the Spanish player surprised everyone by saying that in the future he will take breaks during the season to avoid overexertion and injuries. This has generated numerous speculations, one of which is that John Isner believes this North American tour will be the one chosen by the Murcian in the future to ease the pressure.

Alcaraz is not the first tennis player to complain about the calendar and its demands. More and more players are getting injured due to participating in too many tournaments, as due to contracts or circuit obligations they cannot skip most of them. To all this, we must add that in the future another Masters 1000 will be added in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the season, so Carlos will have to choose wisely which tournaments to skip to avoid situations like the one he has experienced this year. 

In their podcast 'Nothing Major', John Isner, Sam Querrey, and Steve Johnson have discussed this. "I think he could be right. A tournament like the one in Canada may never see Carlos Alcaraz again,” Isner stated, with Querrey adding that “if you were him, you would play the majors, but especially Indian Wells and Miami. Just play Indian Wells. Toronto and Cincinnati, just play Cincinnati. If you are going to play in Rome and Madrid, choose only one. Maybe you could go to Asia every two years,” he concluded.

The problem that prevents Alcaraz from resting as he would like

This roadmap proposed by both players would be ideal for Alcaraz, but for example, the Asian tour is very difficult for him to skip due to all the money he earns by attending and the contracts that prevent him from missing those tournaments. Last year, for example, he only played in Tokyo but skipped the ATP Shanghai, although this year everything indicates that he will play both, having been out for nearly 5 months and rested. 

What is clear is that he cannot play everything, because that has its consequences. Moreover, as Isner says, "he has shown that rest time does not really harm him, and when he is healthy, he can train at his best. They feel 'forced' to play to earn these bonuses, but if enough of them simply don't play, a change will occur.”

These bonuses that Isner refers to are a large sum of money that players earn for participating in all the mandatory Masters 1000 throughout the year. However, there are times when it is better to prioritize physical health over money, especially if you already have life sorted out, as is the case with Carlos, and what matters most is his legacy.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Isner desvela qué torneo podría no jugar Alcaraz nunca más