"I don’t think Ferrero and his team are wild about the idea": Hall of Famer questions Alcaraz’s exhibition schedule before Australian Open

Tennis journalist Steve Flink recently revisited the 2025 season of some of the best ATP and WTA Tour players, and had an interesting approach to the case of Carlos Alcaraz, following the series of exhibitions in which the 6-time major champion recently participated.

According to Flink—inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017 in the Contributor category—Alcaraz's team was reportedly not happy at all with Carlitos' participation in an exhibition tour through the USA. The 22-year-old ended the season at the ATP Finals, being defeated in the final against Jannik Sinner in mid-November.

After taking a few days off, the Spaniard traveled to the USA for an exhibition tour. First, he was in New Jersey, outside New York, where he faced Frances Tiafoe, and ended up defeated in a third-set super-tie-break—on a day that also featured mixed doubles matches alongside Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova.

A few days later, the world No. 1 faced Joao Fonseca for the first time in an exhibition played in Miami (the Miami International). In it, Pegula and Anisimova joined again for a women's singles duel and as mixed doubles partners.

The issue of Alcaraz and exhibitions has been recurring, as the Spaniard has complained several times about the busy calendar, although he is a regular participant in exhibitions, having been seen several times in exhibitions in the USA in previous seasons. While the Spaniard has defended that an exhibition does not imply as great a physical demand as an official tournament, it has been a topic that has dogged him several times and apparently does not please his team too much either.

At least that is what famed tennis journalist Flink reports, who recently participated in an interview on Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis, a YouTube channel where he addressed the current state of the Tour. While discussing Alcaraz's chances of winning the Grand Slam at the Australian Open, the topic of exhibitions during the off-season came up.

“Carlos has never shown us his best yet in Australia…I don’t think Ferrero and his team are wild about the idea of Carlos spending his offseason coming and playing exhos over here,” he said. “He has every right to do it, but he has a lifetime to make money. He’s got so much time to add to his bank account, that I think he might have been wiser to have skipped this."

“We will never know if that was a factor in his loss to Novak. Novak played a great match against him last year, but Carlos was also a bit subpar. So, it will be fascinating to see if he can finally show his best in Australia. I’m convinced that Sinner will show his best at Roland Garros, and maybe they both achieve that Career Slam this year, that would be great for the game.”

Alcaraz is already a 6-time Grand Slam champion, with two trophies in each: French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. However, the tournament that remains pending is the Australian Open, where he has not gone past the quarterfinals, and only has an 11-4 record (73%), compared to the other majors—all with more than double the wins and over 89% effectiveness.

Alcaraz fell in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in the last two seasons: against Alexander Zverev in 2024 and against Novak Djokovic in 2025. This time Carlitos will arrive as the first seed and with the chance to complete the Career Grand Slam at just 22 years old—which would make him the youngest player to achieve it. However, he will need to leave behind the performances of previous years in Melbourne and bring out his best level from the start, in what will be his first tournament of the season.