THE NADAL SHIELD: RAFA’S BLUNT MESSAGE TO FANS: "STOP EXPECTING CARLOS ALCARAZ TO WIN EVERY MATCH"
Carlos Alcaraz faces criticism after a Miami Open exit, but Rafael Nadal defends the World No. 1 and his 7 Slams.
Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his 2026 season in style. He finally completed the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, then rolled through Doha to pick up another trophy. No one could touch him for his first 16 matches of the year. That streak finally snapped in the Indian Wells semi-finals when Daniil Medvedev took him down.
After that, things got a little rocky. Alcaraz, still holding onto the world No. 1 ranking, got knocked out early in Miami. He won just one match there before Sebastian Korda sent him packing. It was déjà vu; last year, he lost his very first match at the Hard Rock Stadium to David Goffin.
So after that hot streak, Alcaraz has dropped two of his last three matches. The Miami loss to Korda stung, especially after Alcaraz clawed back in the second set to force a decider. But Korda, ranked 36th in the world, kept his cool and closed it out in three sets: 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. Alcaraz never really looked settled and kept chatting nervously with his team the whole time.
Still, don’t expect Rafael Nadal to hit the panic button. The Spanish legend, 22-time Grand Slam champ, now retired, shrugged off concerns about Alcaraz’s Miami slip-up. Asked point-blank about the third-round exit, Nadal didn’t mince words.
“He just won the Australian Open, has seven Slams, is No. 1 in the world... So what? Do we expect him to win every single match all year? That’s not how it works. There’s your answer,” Nadal told reporters after picking up an honorary doctorate in Madrid.
Nadal knows that world No. 1 pressure better than anyone. And at 39, he’s urging everyone to ease up.
“Are we really bothered by two losses? That makes no sense. We can’t keep asking more and more from him,” Nadal said. “We should just congratulate Carlos and thank him for what he’s doing.”
He went on: “He’s pulling off things for Spanish sport that, 25 or 30 years back, none of us could have dreamed of. Maybe we’re getting spoiled, but I’ve never lost sight of how hard what Carlos and any top athlete do really is.”
Alcaraz’s early exit did open the door for another Spanish story in Miami. Martin Landaluce, ranked 151 and a Rafa Nadal Academy graduate, qualified for his first ATP quarter-final. He upset two top-20 seeds, Luciano Darderi and Karen Khachanov, then took out Korda, the same guy who’d toppled Alcaraz.
Landaluce credits Nadal and the academy for his breakthrough. “I’ve been training at Rafa’s place since I was 14. I definitely picked up some of his mentality, that Spanish fighting spirit, most of all. Watching him, hitting with him, getting advice, and just seeing how hard he trains day after day has really left a mark on me,” he said.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
