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CARLOS ALCARAZ CONFIRMS RECORD-BREAKING 2026 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE DESPITE GROWING INJURY CONCERNS
Carlos Alcaraz ends 2025 as world No. 1 but faces criticism for a massive exhibition schedule following his coach split.
Over the past couple of years, Carlos Alcaraz has become a huge deal in sports marketing, even bigger than his ATP ranking suggests. He's not just playing in the usual Grand Slams and Masters 1000 tourneys; he's also got a bunch of exhibition matches that are almost as demanding as his regular schedule. Some people are wondering about this, particularly since he's complained about the tough ATP schedule and how it can lead to exhaustion and injuries.
The 22-year-old says that these exhibitions aren't as hard on his body as the real tournaments. He says he plans many of them during the off-season or in slower weeks.
Even so, the 6-time major winner has played in at least 10 exhibitions over the past two years, jetting around to Europe, the US, and Saudi Arabia, turning his downtime into paid promotional trips.
His recent split with his longtime coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, has brought this heavy workload back into the spotlight. Marion Bartoli, a former Wimbledon champ, thinks this could have been a source of tension, hinting that Ferrero might not have been too happy with all the extra matches Alcaraz was playing.
Even with the coaching change, the Alcaraz machine keeps going, recently announcing another exhibition against Joao Fonseca in December 2026, plus a big match against Jannik Sinner in Korea in February.
This mix of events is a new way for tennis stars to handle their careers, balancing performance with entertainment. Some worry about burnout, but Alcaraz's team sees these events as important for staying visible to fans worldwide. By making these matches into big events, Alcaraz is keeping his brand strong even when the regular tour is quiet. But how this strategy will affect him in the long run is still up in the air.
2024: Media Push and Saudi Arabia
Alcaraz kicked off his super exhibition phase in 2024 with the Netflix Slam in Las Vegas. It wasn't just a match; it was like a passing of the torch moment, with Alcaraz facing Rafael Nadal in front of a huge online audience. It was Alcaraz's first real test to see if he could draw in viewers outside of regular tennis, and he showed that his personality could carry a show that felt like a major boxing event.
Then, the exhibition season got super lucrative with the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia. This tourney had all the top players and the biggest prize money ever. Alcaraz didn't just play; he proved that the Kingdom's investment in tennis was worth it, putting on a great final against Jannik Sinner. It made people think that the best matches of the year might not always be in the usual big tennis venues anymore.
At the end of 2024, Alcaraz built up his presence in the US with the Garden Cup in New York and another event in Charlotte, playing against Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe. These stops in December helped him stay in shape during the off-season and win over fans in North America. Playing at Madison Square Garden is a big deal for sports stars, and Alcaraz used these dates to get more popular in the US, which is key for his sponsors and his global image.
2025: Becoming a Global Star
The 2025 schedule started with the Battle of Legends in March, which showed that Alcaraz could fill stadiums all by himself. The event included a women's match between Venus Williams and Monica Puig, and Alcaraz played Frances Tiafoe again. This event showed that Alcaraz could be the main attraction in different kinds of events and draw crowds in places that aren't typically tennis hotspots, mixing sports and entertainment even more.
His participation in the 2025 Laver Cup and the second Six Kings Slam showed that these events are now a regular part of his yearly plan. At the Laver Cup, Alcaraz was the main guy for Team Europe, taking on the role that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal used to have. And his return to Riyadh showed that Saudi Arabia is becoming a major player in tennis, with Alcaraz being important to the success of these big projects.
Exhibition History: Carlos Alcaraz (2024-2025)
2024 Season
The Netflix Slam | March 3 | Las Vegas, USA | vs. Rafael Nadal
Laver Cup | September 20-22 | Berlin, Germany | Team Europe
Six Kings Slam | October 16 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Invitational Tournament
The Garden Cup | December 4 | New York, USA (MSG) | vs. Ben Shelton
Charlotte Invitational | December 6 | Charlotte, USA | vs. Frances Tiafoe
2025 Season
The Battle of Legends | March 2 | Las Vegas, USA | vs. Frances Tiafoe
Laver Cup | September 19-21 | San Francisco, USA | Team Europe
Six Kings Slam | October 15 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Invitational Tournament
A Racquet at the Rock | December 7 | Newark, USA | vs. Frances Tiafoe
Miami Invitational | December 8 | Miami, USA | vs. Joao Fonseca
THE EIGHT-YEAR GAP: SVITOLINA REACHES FIRST WTA 1000 FINAL SINCE 2018 IN DUBAI
Svitolina stuns Gauff! Discover how she reached the Dubai final to face Pegula, plus Alcaraz's 11-0 streak and Venus' return.
Elina Svitolina stunned world number four Coco Gauff to earn a spot in the Dubai Tennis Championships final, where she’ll face Jessica Pegula.
Pegula got there first, clawing her way back after a rough start against Amanda Anisimova. She dropped the first set badly and even lost her serve early in the second, but still pulled off a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
Gauff, just 21, almost set up an all-American final, but Svitolina refused to fold. The match? Epic. Svitolina took it 6-4, 6-7 (13-15), 6-4 after more than three hours on court. She let four match points slip in a wild second-set tiebreak, but didn’t let that break her. She powered through the decider, and now she’s back in the Dubai final for the first time since she won the title back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
“I was playing like there’s no tomorrow, just giving it everything,” Svitolina said afterwards.
Over in the men’s Qatar Open, world number one Carlos Alcaraz kept his perfect 2026 record alive. He beat Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 to reach the final. Alcaraz, just 22, already grabbed the Australian Open this season and became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. He’s won all 11 matches he’s played this year.
“I know what I can do every time I step on the court,” Alcaraz said.
He’ll face Arthur Fils from France in the final. Fils beat Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, who’d knocked out world number two Jannik Sinner earlier in the week, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
And in some more big news, Venus Williams is heading back to Indian Wells. The seven-time Grand Slam champ, now 45, got a wildcard for both singles and doubles.
“It’s great to be heading back to Indian Wells and returning home to California,” Williams said in a statement.
9-0 STREAK: ANALYZING CARLOS ALCARAZ’S PERFECT START TO THE 2026 TENNIS SEASON
Alcaraz hits 9-0: Discover why Valentin Royer warned Alcaraz and Sinner after their 2026 clash and the latest ATP rankings.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner just got a playful warning from their ATP rival, Valentin Royer.
Alcaraz, with seven Grand Slam titles, and Sinner, who has four, have completely owned men’s tennis for the last couple of years. They’ve split the last nine majors; each grabbed four ATP Masters 1000 trophies; and keep swapping the No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings.
No one else has really kept up. Novak Djokovic is still hanging around, but the rest of the guys, like Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Ben Shelton, are all chasing from behind.
Alcaraz is rolling right now. He’s unbeaten in 2026 so far, standing at 9-0. After winning his first Australian Open title, he followed up with wins over Arthur Rinderknech and Royer.
After Alcaraz beat Royer 6-2, 7-5, the two shared a light moment at the net. Royer, currently world No. 60, told Alcaraz, “I’ll come for you and Jannik, don’t worry. Some day.” Alcaraz laughed and said, “I will wait for you, man.”
Royer actually had a shot in the second set. He broke Alcaraz’s serve early and was up 5-3, serving for the set, but Alcaraz broke back, held serve, and broke again to close out the match.
Asked if he was nervous, Alcaraz admitted, “Honestly, I had to be ready for anything. There were moments when I thought about a third set; I’m not going to lie. But that was just a small part of my mind. Mostly, I was focused on finding solutions, figuring out how to get back on track.
“I’m really happy I found my rhythm again and played good tennis. Sometimes it just comes down to one point. Closing out a set or a match isn’t always easy. I just had to stay in it, and I’m glad I turned it around and got the win in straight sets.”
Next, he faces seventh seed Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals. If he gets through, he’ll meet either Andrey Rublev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis. Sinner is the likely opponent waiting in the final.
“Everybody expects us to play every final, every tournament, but that’s not easy. There are a lot of players out here who want to beat us,” Alcaraz said about a possible final against Sinner.
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