Carlos Alcaraz insists players are often misunderstood when it comes to criticism over exhibition tournaments.
The world No. 1 is the top seed at this week’s high-profile Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, an event that has also attracted Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz has been vocal about the punishing tour schedule in Asia, where several players struggled with fatigue, and he has openly said he might skip mandatory events to protect his health.
While he understands the scrutiny surrounding participation in the Six Kings Slam, the Spaniard says critics are missing the point.
“I think it’s a discussion that a lot of players and a lot of people are talking about with the calendar, how tight it is with a lot of tournaments and the tournaments of two weeks, and then making some, I’m going to say, excuses with exhibitions, how players are complaining about the calendar and then playing some exhibitions," he said.
“All I can say is it’s a really different format, a different situation playing exhibitions than the official tournaments, having 15, 16 days in a row, having such a high focus and demanding physically," he added.
“That’s why, because we’re just having fun for one or two days and playing some tennis, and I think that’s great, and I think that’s why we choose sometimes the exhibitions. Obviously I understand (the criticism), but sometimes people don’t understand us, our opinions. When I see a lot of people complaining about how we are defending the exhibitions, I don’t understand them because, as I said, it’s not really demanding mentally (compared to) when we’re having such long events like two weeks or two-and-a-half weeks. It’s really tough,” he said.
Alcaraz won his eighth title of a sensational season in Tokyo last month despite an ankle injury sustained in his opening match that prompted him to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters.
The 22-year-old chose to head to Saudi Arabia despite admitting the injury is not fully healed, saying: “Everything’s OK. I’ve been recovering the ankle as much and as well as I can. I don’t feel 100%. The doubts are there a little when I’m moving on court, but I think it improved a lot and I’m going to compete and perform well here in the Six Kings Slam.”
Alcaraz has a bye to the semi-finals at the event, which is part of Riyadh Season and will be broadcast on Netflix, where he will face either Fritz or Zverev on Thursday.
He is aiming to go one better than the inaugural Six Kings Slam last year, where Sinner won their final clash and walked away with $6 million, the biggest prize in tennis.
Alcaraz is also back on familiar sporting territory, having joined Ryder Cup stars Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry at the Open de Espana Pro-Am last week.
A keen golfer, Alcaraz often hits the fairways on his days off at the U.S. Open.
“It was a great experience,” he said. “I went to Madrid for a day to play with the professionals, to play with Jon and with Lowry. I try to make the most of my time while I’m taking some days off, so it was great playing some golf with them.
“Learning from them closely, I saw that I have a lot of things I need to improve in golf. Seeing them hitting the ball, playing at such an amazing level, I was impressed. Feeling like an amateur sometimes is great.”
