Carlos Alcaraz has received some advice after his surprise third-round loss to Sebastian Korda at the Miami Open.
The defeat was just Alcaraz’s second of the 2026 season, but the world number one wasn’t pleased with how he played, admitting he’s dealing with a recurring issue that many opponents are now targeting.
Following his exit, former world number two Alex Corretja weighed in on what Alcaraz might need to address going forward.
Alex Corretja tells Carlos Alcaraz not to dwell on Miami Open exit
Carlos Alcaraz may have seen his sunshine double bid fall short, but there’s no question that he’s had a strong start to the season. He already has two titles under his belt, including his seventh major at the Australian Open.
Discussing the loss to Korda on Eurosport Spain, Corretja said he wouldn’t read too much into it and even suggested taking some extra time off, possibly skipping Monte Carlo altogether.
Corretja also believes Alcaraz is set for another strong run once the clay court season begins.
“Winning a lot is spectacular, but it also saturates you,” Corretja explained. “I think the start of the year has been spectacular, but it gives you very little margin.
“Alcaraz is somewhat mentally saturated. The rivals are showing that the circuit is so, so difficult and so demanding, and what he was doing until now was extremely complicated.”
“I would tell him to be super calm – that this doesn’t affect anything. Zero stress. You’ve given 100%. Take a few days of rest,” said Corretja.
“Let’s properly evaluate if we’re recovered enough to arrive in good shape for Monte Carlo. If not, we’ll continue and start in Barcelona. What’s the problem?
“You have to decide where you play, why you play, and for what you play,” Corretja continued.
“And you have to go because you want to play, not because the circuit forces you to play – because in the end that takes its toll.”
Alcaraz’s World No. 1 Status Could Be Under Threat After Miami Open
Corretja has mentioned that sitting out the Monte Carlo Masters could be an option for Alcaraz, but it’s still an important tournament in terms of ranking points.
Alcaraz started Miami with a buffer of over 2,000 points ahead of Sinner, but that lead is set to shrink quickly.
Sinner was serving a three-month ban during this stretch last year and therefore has no points to defend until the Italian Open, whereas Alcaraz is on the hook for over 4,000 points during the clay swing.
That means once the French Open wraps up, Sinner could have more confirmed ranking points and be in line to reclaim the top spot in men’s tennis.
The shift could happen even sooner. If Sinner wins both Miami and Monte Carlo, he’d jump back into the world number one position.
For now though, Sinner’s attention is firmly on finishing strong in Miami. He remains a heavy favourite to take the title as well as being easily the highest ranked player left standing in the draw.
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