Alcaraz' Serve Glow-Up

Technique

Alcaraz’ Serve Glow-Up

Hey gang — I’ll stop fangirling on Alcaraz after this article (for a bit). The rest of the pro tennis world deserves coverage too. But for now, let’s nerd out.

I can’t get this stat out of my head: in the US Open final, Sinner only had one break point the entire match. Just one. It’s absolutely bananas that the best returner in the world couldn’t get to 30-40 or Ad-Out more than literally once across four sets.

That says a lot about how much Carlos’ serve has leveled up since he first hit No. 1 in 2022. So what’s changed? Let’s break it down frame by frame.

Back in 2022, his serve looked like dog-poo this:

What I notice:

1. [Far Left] He bent down and paused at the bottom of his motion (think half-squat before the real squat)

2. [Far Right] His right arm lifted up to the side of his body, parallel with the baseline

Now compare that to last year’s Roland Garros frames:

The changes:

1. [Far Left] He’s no longer hunched and pausing at the bottom — the motion flows straight through

2. [Far Right] His right arm now sweeps farther back, perpendicular to the baseline.

In short, Alcaraz cut his two pauses down to one, creating a more fluid, efficient rhythm.

How does it help him?

More power. The new arm path is like throwing a baseball from behind your body versus flinging it straight out from the side like a 5 year old. More wind-up, more muscle engagement, more mph.

Less wasted energy. No more half-squat before the full squat. The motion is cleaner, smoother, and easier to repeat deep into five-setters.

Better under pressure. A smoother motion is less likely to hitch when the nerves kick in. Case in point: he sealed this year’s US Open with a 130 mph bomb on match point. That’s not just execution — that’s trust in the mechanics.

Carlos himself admitted this was a long-term project. Back at Wimbledon 2024, after cracking 16 aces against Frances Tiafoe, he said: “It’s something I’ve improved quite a lot. It’s been on my to-do list for many years: trying to improve my serve.”

Zooming out

I’m inspired when I see the best in the whole wide world tinker with their technique. Why? Because it’s so hard to re-wire muscle memory that’s been engrained in them over tens of thousands of swings. And two, because it shows immense humility to say, “I’m the best, and I still have things to learn and do better.”

We can all learn from that.

Trivia

Which player holds the record for most ATP 250 singles titles?

A. Nikolay Davydenko

B. Fernando Verdasco

C. Roger Federer

D. Thomas Muster

Find out at the bottom!

Memes

Photo of the Week

Baldcaraz ➡️ Blondcaraz

Sike. More “Alcky” as my wife likes to call him. Reporters asked Carlos if he planned on keeping his buzzcut after winning the US Open. “Even better,” he told the press with a grin. “Even better. You will see. You will see. Surprise, surprise!”

Around the Net

Some of the best tennis content I found on the internet this week…

😍 How Andy Roddick stalked met his wife, Brooklyn Decker

📲 In a recent interview, WTA player Anna Kalinskaya said that Holger Rune DMed her 10 times and then gave up. “He writes to everyone, it seems…”

🥦 Djokovic shares the dietary changes that transformed his fitness and mental clarity on court

Answer

D. Thomas Muster

Muster takes the cake with 26 ATP 250 titles to his name. The story behind the picture? Before the 1989 Miami Open final, a drunk driver hit Muster’s car head on, severing the Austrian’s MCL and ACL. In what would be a career ending injury for most, Muster kept training and made a remarkable comeback. He went on to regain the World No. 1 spot and win Roland Garros in 1995. Damn.