With dead batteries, Carlos Alcaraz made the decision to retire! Say “step” to the tournament won last year
Article by Maria Olteanu – Published on Tuesday, 03 February 2026, 14:13 / Updated on Tuesday, 03 February 2026 14:21
After the impressive performance at the Australian Openwhere he achieved the Slam of his career, Carlos Alcaraz (22 years old, 1 ATP) made the decision to withdraw from the next competition, the tournament in Rotterdam, especially since the last two weeks involved intense physical effort. Thus, the player from Murcia will not be able to defend his title won in Holland in 2025.
After his victory in Melbourne against Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz made a major change in his competitive calendar, motivated by his spectacular run at the Australian Open. This change in schedule will allow him more time for rest and recovery after the success in Antipozi, so he decided with his team not to participate in the ATP Rotterdam 2026 tournament, where he won the title last year and was now the main favorite again.
Carlos Alcaraz will not participate in the tournament in Rotterdam
The announcement regarding Alcaraz's decision was made by the organizers of the competition in the Netherlands.
“Carlos Alcaraz will not be defending his title in Rotterdam. The Australian Open champion has decided that after his extraordinary efforts over the past two weeks, he needs more time to return to action. We wish Carlos a speedy recovery.” it is stated in the press release of the tournament, quoted by puntodebreak.com.
Although the fans will not agree with the Murcian's decision, it can be understood, considering the physical effort made in the last few days. What's more, during the last week in Melbourne, Alcaraz blamed muscle problems, having cramps during the semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Now, after the tour in Australia, Carlos will be back in Spain by the middle of this week, depending on time zone differences as well. This would have left him only a few days to prepare for a tournament which, moreover, is played in very different conditions, indoors, on hard, and on a more abrasive surface than that of the first Slam of the year.
Jannik Sinner made an identical decision in the case of the tournament in Rotterdam last year, after winning the Australian Open. The Italian, who had committed to the Richard Krajicek-led event, announced his withdrawal at a similar time to Carlos's, citing physical exhaustion after two weeks of intense competition. Thus, for Rotterdam it is the second time in a row that the main favorite says “step” before the start.
In the end, Carlos Alcaraz's program will maintain its following commitments and will most likely not undergo any other changes outside of this absence, the cited source notes.
Alcaraz is expected to return to ATP Doha
The world leader will return to the competition at ATP Doha 2026, where last year he reached the quarter-finals, being defeated by Jiri Lehecka. The tournament in Doha will start on February 16, giving them more than a week and a half of preparation before they travel to Qatar.
The main consequence of his absence from Rotterdam will be seen in the standings: he will lose 500 points, remaining 13,150 points at the top of the hierarchy, but maintaining a lead of almost 3000 points over Sinner, who will try to close the gap in the next two months of competition.
