Rennae Stubbs outlines key improvements for Carlos Alcaraz ahead of Australian Open challenge

Former Serena Williams’ coach Rennae Stubbs discussed the issues Carlos Alcaraz must address before the Australian Open. The 4-time Grand Slam champion will aim to complete the Career Grand Slam in Melbourne, though it’s the major where he’s felt the least comfortable in his career.

In three appearances in Melbourne, Alcaraz has only won seven matches, with his best showing being the quarterfinals in 2024, where he lost to Alexander Zverev. Stubbs highlighted Alcaraz’s biggest weaknesses and what he needs to improve to compete on hard courts against Jannik Sinner and Zverev.

"He's not getting free points" - Rennae Stubbs about Alcaraz

“It will be interesting to see how Carlos responds next year because obviously winning the French Open and Wimbledon is just unheard of,” Stubbs said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “It’s such a hard thing to do. But he has some question marks about playing on the hard courts against Sinner and Zverev, against these guys who have really big power.

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“There’s a couple of knocks I have on Carlos – and we are talking about a really high level. But I think he is not a big guy, he is like 5ft 10 or 5ft 11. He needs to develop a flatter serve. He needs to develop his serve a bit better, and I think he needs to hit his spots better.

“Roger [Federer] wasn’t a big guy, but he could hit the corners like nobody else, and I think Carlos needs to get his accuracy with his serving better. If he doesn’t hit the corners better, he’s not getting free points.

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“Jannik Sinner gets free point after free point, Zverev free point after free point with his big massive serve,” she added. “So I think Alcaraz, on a fast court like the US Open and Australian Open, needs to get more accurate with the first serve. I also think he needs to get just a little bit better with his shot selection.”

In 2024, Carlos Alcaraz won four titles, two of them on hard courts. First, he triumphed in Indian Wells, defeating Zverev and Sinner before overcoming Daniil Medvedev in the final. Later, he captured the China Open title in a thrilling final against Sinner, 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3).