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Why Alcaraz is making changes to his racquet & serve in 2025

Spaniard has added weight to his racquet
January 12, 2025
Carlos Alcaraz is aiming for his first Australian Open title.
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Carlos Alcaraz is aiming for his first Australian Open title. By Rafael Plaza

“You can never stand still, you have to keep changing little things.”

Wise words from Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, which began Sunday in Melbourne. The quote perfectly sums up his preparations for 2025, after a preseason during which he made two big modifications: to the mechanics of his serve and his racquet specifications.

“Of course, you have to change things,” explained the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Saturday in Melbourne. “Jannik [Sinner] has said the same thing, that he changed things in the preseason that perhaps we can’t see, but he feels that they’re different,” he added of the Italian. “To always be at the top you have to keep adapting to what’s demanded of you and changing little things to be better or just as competitive.”

With that in mind, Alcaraz embarked on his preseason prepared to try out those two changes (to serve and racquet) and he will be hoping it has a significant impact on his game. Thus, during the first days of his preparations for 2025, the Murcia native got to work on trying to embed the new service movement into his muscle memory.

It All Adds Up

“We knew that the serve was something I had to improve, we had to do something. It had to be more accurate and I wasn’t managing to do that,” revealed Alcaraz. “The new movement is a little more relaxed, quite a lot more relaxed, with a looser wrist to try and improve my timing and there’s no pause when the racquet gets to the top, it’s all more fluid,” he elaborated. "That also affects a few things during matches, for example, I’m not so tense, which can take its toll physically,” he remarked.

“I haven’t had much time to practise the new serve. I still have to think about how to do it, but it’s feeling better every day.”

As well as his serve, Alcaraz made the decision to add weight to the neck of his racquet using 5 grams of lead tape.

“In the end, we had to change certain things, to try them out,” said Alcaraz. “Yes, more than change, we had to try things. I was playing with quite a light weight for the pro tour. We said we’d try those 5 grams and it felt pretty good,” he continued.

“The most important thing for me was that I could move it just as well as the racquet I was playing with, I didn’t notice anything in my arms. Honestly, it was fantastic. It helps me because my shots are heavier, and for certain shots like the serve and the return that’s always useful.”

Alcaraz will play his opener at the Australian Open Monday against Alexander Shevchenko.

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