recently wrapped up his 2025 official schedule with the ATP’s year-end No. 1 ranking, tour-highs of 71 match wins and eight trophies and a pair of that lifted his career total to six.
Yes, his season is done 鈥� but his year isn’t. That’s because the 22-year-old Alcaraz, who skipped representing Spain in last week’s Davis Cup Final 8 because of pain in , is signed up for a pair of upcoming exhibition events that include singles matches against two-time U.S. Open semifinalist in Newark, New Jersey, on Dec. 7, and against , a 19-year-old Brazilian ranked 24th, in Miami on Dec. 8.
Alcaraz is one of many tennis players , saying it runs too long, asks too much of the athletes and provides too short of an offseason.
Does he get why some fans might wonder why he would add these unofficial outings?
鈥淔irst of all, it鈥檚 normal that people think that way and they don鈥檛 understand why we鈥檙e complaining about the calendar and then we set up the exhibition matches,鈥� Alcaraz told The Associated Press. 鈥淏ut for me, the main difference is that, at a tournament, you鈥檝e got to keep your focus and it鈥檚 really physically and mentally demanding for one week and a half. And an exhibition is just one day. You just stay focused, just warm up, just practice not that much 鈥� for one match.鈥�
It boils down, he said, to the external and internal pressure that come with the week-in, week-out grind 鈥� for victories, for rankings points, for hardware 鈥� that adds up over the season.
Those sorts of things are absent when Alcaraz swings his racket somewhere other than , and instead at the homes of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, say, or Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins, two sites that never previously hosted professional tennis.
Ross Hutchins, who oversees the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup as the new CEO of the International Tennis Federation, thinks that kind of exposure is good for the game.
鈥淲e have cities, governments, locations, individuals, entrepreneurs, federations that just want more tennis. Everyone wants more tennis, and the sport is growing and growing and growing with its appeal. So we鈥檙e in a fortunate situation at the moment,鈥� Hutchins said.
鈥淚t’s difficult to say it’s bad for players to play in a new location,鈥� he added, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 difficult to criticize the players for doing so because of the dynamics that they鈥檙e in鈥� as independent contractors who 鈥渘ever know when your form is going to drop or what injury might hit.鈥�
At the Prudential Center, in addition to Alcaraz vs. Tiafoe, there will be a singles match between 2024 U.S. Open runner-up and 2025 Wimbledon and U.S. Open runner-up , plus some mixed doubles.
At loanDepot Park the following night, Alcaraz vs. Fonseca will be accompanied by another matchup between Pegula and Anisimova, along with a mixed doubles 10-point tiebreaker.
鈥淵ou could approach the exhibitions in different ways. You can (do it) just to have fun, playing good tennis, good shots and having fun. Or you can approach them playing really serious and (using) tactics and trying different things you will want to do later, in an event,鈥� Alcaraz said. 鈥淪o for these matches, I鈥檓 going to play well, I鈥檓 going to take it really seriously, but at the same time, I’m going to try to have as much fun as I can. To me, that鈥檚 what matters. When I鈥檓 having fun on court, I can show my best tennis.鈥�
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