Ex-WTA Player Believes Carlos Alcaraz Has an Advantage Over His Rivals Until End of 2026 Season

Carlos Alcaraz is in Tokyo, competing at the Japan Open. He first overcame Alex Michelsen in three sets and scheduled his second-round match against Matteo Arnaldi.

The Spaniard is chasing his third title of the season. Earlier this season, he took home back-to-back titles at the Australian Open and the Qatar Open, by defeating Novak Djokovic and Arthur Fils, respectively. He then reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters, but arch-rival Jannik Sinner ended his title defense. Alcaraz was dethroned from the top of the rankings table.

After Monte Carlo, the World No. 3 competed at the Barcelona Open, where he injured his wrist. He spent four months on the sidelines and returned to competition at the US Open, where his title defense ended at the hands of eventual runner-up Ben Shelton; he then played at the Laver Cup in London.

Because Alcaraz has not played much this season, former WTA player Annabel Croft believes he will have an advantage over his rivals until the end of this season.

Normally, by this time of the season, there’s a lot of players trying to get their extra points up on the rankings ahead of next year, also heading toward end-of-season championships as well. But a lot of players are often exhausted, they’ve expended so much physical energy as well as the mental side of things. But Alcaraz is going to be very, very fresh.

Annabel Croft told Sky Sports Tennis

After the Japan Open, the seven-time Grand Slam champion will be bidding to win his ninth Masters 1000 title at the Shanghai Masters, which starts on October 5. He has made just two appearances so far, losing in the fourth round in 2023 and in the quarterfinals in 2024. Alcaraz was forced to skip the event last year due to an ankle injury.

Carlos Alcaraz on what he found difficult about playing at the Japan Open

Carlos Alcaraz is chasing his 10th ATP 500 title of the season at the Japan Open. After his first-round match, Alcaraz admitted he struggled with the conditions, which is why he struggled against Alex Michelsen.

As I’ve said, I simply tried to give my best. Today I didn’t find myself at my best version. I didn’t feel the ball the way I would have liked. The same thing has happened to the players who competed in the Laver Cup and came here, since we arrived quite late. During the days we were here, it was raining, and we had to train on covered courts.

Carlos Alcaraz said (H/T: Tennis365)

While Alcaraz is competing in Tokyo, World No.2 Alexander Zverev is in Beijing, playing at the China Open, and so is Novak Djokovic. Jannik Sinner is nursing a knee injury, which forced him to skip not just the Cincinnati Masters and China Open, but also the US Open, where he finished as the runner-up last year.

Arriving today and encountering so much humidity, heat, and totally different conditions made it very difficult to play and manage everything we went through during the match. I’m very happy to have given my best, to have played good tennis – good enough to secure the victory. Now I’m going to give myself a few more days to get used to the conditions here.

Carlos Alcaraz added

If the Murcia native defeats Matteo Arnaldi, he will face Denis Shapovalov or Alejandro Tabilo in the quarterfinals. The second seed in the event is Frances Tiafoe. Last year in the Japanese capital, Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz in the final.

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