The tennis calendar takes its toll. Professionals like Carlos Alcaraz are drawing the line and planning longer breaks. Why this is also the key to success for your training.
If you want to give your all in sport, you also have to do nothing at all sometimes. What sounds simple is extremely difficult for many ambitious athletes in everyday life. But even the absolute world-class athletes eventually reach their physical limits if the load is permanently too high. A prominent example of this is tennis star Carlos Alcaraz. After reaching the third round of the US Open, the Spaniard found clear words for the extremely dense schedule of the professional tour and announced conscious, longer breaks for the future to protect his body. His message is clear: without targeted time-outs, physical wear and tear is imminent.
According to media reports such as from tennisnet.com and Ubitennis, Alcaraz complains about the "impossible" schedule of the ATP Tour. If a top-30 player plays all mandatory tournaments – including four Grand Slams, nine Masters 1000 tournaments and four ATP 500 events – he is in action for around 40 weeks of the year. The consequence of this extreme continuous load is clearly visible: many players are tired, the number of injuries is noticeably rising. Alcaraz himself previously had to take a four-month break due to a wrist injury. Other pros like Jannik Sinner, who missed the US Open due to knee problems, or Emma Raducanu, who struggled with a stress fracture, also show how quickly the body goes on strike when recovery is neglected. Even in swimming, the example of Gretchen Walsh after the Pan Pacific Championships shows that an extremely dense travel schedule and constant competitions leave their mark and can weigh on your own expectations.
Alcaraz has drawn a conclusion for himself: in future, he would rather voluntarily skip individual tournaments and take planned breaks of one or two months, instead of being forced into a forced break of several months by a serious injury. This strategy of proactive load management can be perfectly transferred to recreational sports. We often tend to ignore warning signs from the body until a strain, tendonitis or total exhaustion stops us. Anyone who trains smartly plans recovery phases firmly into their training calendar before pain even arises. In the event of health problems or persistent complaints, a professional assessment by doctors or physiotherapists should also always be carried out.
For your own training, this means: focus on quality instead of pure quantity. If you notice that fatigue is taking over or concentration is dropping – as happened to Alcaraz in his first-round set against Jaime Faria, when he admitted he acted too hastily and impatiently – it is time to step back. After intensive training weeks, consciously plan regenerative phases. This not only strengthens your muscles and tendons, but also keeps your motivation high in the long term. Only those who give the body the necessary time to adapt can remain injury-free and increase their performance permanently.
Your takeaway: Actively plan fixed recovery phases into your training plan to prevent injuries, instead of only taking a break when your body forces you to.
This article was generated automatically with AI from the sources listed above and has not been editorially reviewed.