Alcaraz Training for French Open: Focus on Serve and Return

After being stunned by Sebastian Korda in the Miami Open third round, the Spaniard has turned his attention towards an important period in the calendar.

Alcaraz has over 3,000 ATP ranking points to defend across the clay-court swing, and the 22-year-old has already taken steps to prepare for the upcoming tournaments.

Samuel Lopez, Alcaraz's coach, has discussed these areas ahead of the Spaniard's next event in Monte-Carlo.

"Yes, without a doubt tennis has evolved a lot around the first shots — the serve and the plus one, and the return and the plus one," Lopez said in an interview with Eurosport. "Carlos is a very lively player on court, who likes to move forward a lot, and we’re also working a lot on that, on continuing to develop it."

Lopez added that they are also working on incorporating shots where he has more control, like the slice, for better defense or changes of rhythm. There are always things to improve.

"But I would say one thing: the serve, of course, has improved, but it still needs to keep improving, not in terms of power, but in terms of precision and percentages. And on the return it’s the same," Lopez explained.

Alcaraz is expected to travel to Spain for events in Barcelona and Madrid, before heading to Rome for the Italian Open. He will then make his way to Paris for the French Open.

The Spaniard is entering into a crucial period of his 2026 campaign. With over 3,000 ATP ranking points to defend over the clay-court swing, Alcaraz could soon surrender the world number one spot to Jannik Sinner.

In the 2025 US Open final, Jannik Sinner's serving let him down. The Italian made only 48 per cent of his first serves and hit four double faults on his way to a four-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz.

Since then, Sinner has drastically improved his serving output. The 23-year-old Italian is arguably the best server on the Tour right now, as demonstrated by his performance in the Miami Open final, during which he hit 10 aces and won 92 per cent of his first-serve points. Therefore, with Sinner improving his serve, Alcaraz's return game will need to be at its best moving forward.