Hall of Fame tennis journalist Steve Flink doesn't think that coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and the rest of Carlos Alcaraz's team are too happy with the world No. 1 signing up for offseason exhibitions, knowing that the 22-year-old has often struggled in the first month of the year.
Heading into 2026, Alcaraz has won three Grand Slams multiple times - he has two titles at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. But when it comes to the Australian Open, the Spanish tennis star has yet to reach the semifinal stage in Melbourne. In his first four appearances at Melbourne Park, the world No. 1 made two quarterfinals and had a second-round and a third-round exit.
After winning his sixth Grand Slam title at the US Open, Alcaraz underlined that his next big goal was to win the Australian Open and complete a Career Grand Slam.
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But his decision to play exhibition matches in New Jersey and Miami this month is being questioned by famed tennis journalist Flink.
Flink: I don't think Ferrero is wild about the idea of Alcaraz playing offseason exhibitions
Carlos has never shown us his best yet in AustraliaI dont think Ferrero and his team are wild about the idea of Carlos spending his offseason coming and playing exhos over here. He has every right to do it, but he has a lifetime to make money. Hes got so much time to add to his bank account, that I think he might have been wiser to have skipped this," Flink said on the Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis.
We will never know if that was a factor in his loss to Novak. Novak played a great match against him last year, but Carlos was also a bit subpar. So, it will be fascinating to see if he can finally show his best in Australia. Im convinced that Sinner will show his best at Roland Garros, and maybe they both achieve that Career Slam this year, that would be great for the game.
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In his last two Australian Open appearances, Alcaraz picked up a quarterfinal loss to Alexander Zverev in 2023 before losing in the same stage to Novak Djokovic last year.
