Boris Becker is confident Carlos Alcaraz’s fitness and injury woes will soon be something of the past, saying the growing pains are part and parcel of the game for young players.
Although some believe Alcaraz’s form has dipped this year following his brilliant 2022 campaign, the Spaniard is coming off another highly successful season as he won five titles – including his second Grand Slam at Wimbledon – and finished at No 2 in the ATP Rankings.
The 20-year-old, though, missed several tournaments due to injury as he withdrew from the Australian Open at the start of the year due to a hamstring injury he sustained during training while he also missed Monte-Carlo Masters, Swiss Indoors Basel and Mexican Open due to various niggles.
He still managed to play 77 top-level singles matches in 2023, but the injuries have resulted in questions being raised about his fitness
Former world No 1 Becker, though, says it is normal for young players to struggle at the beginning of their careers.
Speaking on the Eurosport Podcast “Das Gelbe vom Ball”, the German said: “When motivation weakens, the body also suffers. If you skip one or two training sessions. That’s what happened to me. It’s happened to every successful 20-year-old.”
However, Becker is confident that Alcaraz together with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero will eventually come up with a training plan and playing schedule that works well for the rising star.
It has already been confirmed that the world No 2 won’t play any warm-up events before the Australian Open with Ferrero and the rest of his coaching team opting to stick to practice matches ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam, although Ferrero himself won’t accompany him to Australia for the tournament.
“I am convinced, with Carlos Ferrero at his side, that Carlos is going into the winter break highly motivated and is looking forward to Melbourne and the new season,” six-time Grand Slam winner Becker said.
He added: “We’ll have to see what happens. I saw him live in Turin [at the ATP Finals], also in training. He was physically fit.”
“I’m convinced that the two of them will come up with the right solution. Nobody likes to be injured. The question is, what are you missing: will you get back to training sessions where you can strengthen your back or thighs? But Juan Carlos and Carlos know exactly how to do that.”
