French Open reigning champ Carlos Alcaraz shares honest take on his approach to tennis: ‘I have to suffer’

Carlos Alcaraz began his 2025 French Open campaign on solid footing. He opened with a comfortable win over Giulio Zeppieri this past Monday, then followed it up by defeating Fabian Marozsan to advance to the third round. Before facing his next challenge, the Spanish star shared a sincere message about his mindset going into each match.

“Sometimes it is difficult to have fun on the court, I have to suffer,” Alcaraz admitted during a recent press conference in Paris, according to the official website of the ATP Tour. “It depends on the opponent as well.”

Carlos’ explanation makes sense, given the pressure professional athletes are routinely under—especially in tennis. Unlike team sports, where players can lean on teammates and share responsibilities, in singles tennis, that support system simply doesn’t exist.

Under those conditions, each player has their own way of coping. “Most of the time I am trying to not think about anything else but enjoy playing and being in this kind of court,” Alcaraz explained. “I want to enjoy when I step onto court and not think about anything else. I want to play good tennis and make the people enjoy my matches.”

Alcaraz’s approach

The topic of pressure, discipline, and how to handle being one of the biggest stars in global sports has been a recurring theme for Alcaraz in recent years. In fact, since the release of the Netflix docuseries My Way, which offers an inside look at the Spanish player’s 2024 season, it became clear that this has also been a point of discussion with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

In the series, Alcaraz admitted that one of his ways to escape the stress and exhaustion of the professional tennis grind is to travel with friends and let loose a bit. “In Ibiza, I’m not gonna lie, everything is always about partying and going out. I wanted to go there and get wasted,” he said.

On this point, Ferrero did not hold back. “If you go to Ibiza for six days and go out every single night, by the seventh day you’ve done anything but rest… It’s great to disconnect, but some part of your head has to remember that you’re a tennis player,” said the former World No. 1 in 2003.

Alcaraz stays on track at the French Open

After securing wins in his first two matches against Giulio Zeppieri and Fabian Marozsan, Carlos Alcaraz is now focused on his third-round match at Roland Garros against Damir Dzumhur, scheduled for Friday afternoon. If he defeats the Bosnian player, currently ranked No. 69 in the ATP rankings, Alcaraz will face the winner between Ben Shelton and Matteo Gigante in the round of 16.