Carlos Alcaraz spent time in Bahrain watching F1 pre-season testing.
The tennis world number one and newly crowned Australian Open champion wanted a closer look at the 2026 Formula One cars.
Walking around the paddock, he spent time with several F1 stars, including his countrymen Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz.
It was only a quick trip, though, as he soon travelled to Doha for the Qatar Open.
There, he defeated Arthur Rinderknech in his first-round match, 6-4, 7-6.
After the match, he was asked if he was inspired by F1 drivers after watching them in pre-season testing.
Carlos Alcaraz says he ‘loves’ Formula One
During his post-match interview, Alcaraz spoke openly about his love for Formula One.
“When you see other professional athletes doing their stuff, it’s super impressive,” he said.
“I love Formula 1.
“I support the Spanish [drivers], but the way all the drivers are going, and seeing them doing the pre-season, it’s really impressive.
“A totally different way to how we prepare for the start of the season.
“It’s great to keep some stuff from them, but really impressive, and as I said, it’s great to do some fun things before the tournament.”
The F1 pre-season tests continue in Bahrain, while Alcaraz aims for the title over in Doha…
Who will Carlos Alcaraz have to beat to win the Qatar Open?
After securing his 150th career hard-court win against Rinderknech in round one, Alcaraz set up a second-round tie with another Frenchman, Valentin Royer.
The Spaniard will walk on court as a big favorite for that one, and barring a big upset, should advance to the quarterfinals.
It was in the quarterfinals that his Qatar Open campaign came to an end last year, though, losing to Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka.
Luckily for Alcaraz, Lehecka is on the opposite side of the draw this time around, and he would instead play either Marton Fucsovics or Karen Khachanov in the quarters.
Then, in the semis, he would meet one of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Fabian Marozsan, or Andrey Rublev.
It’s the potential final that everyone’s looking forward to, though.
Alcaraz’s biggest rival, Jannik Sinner could await him in the Qatar Open championship match.
The pair contested six finals in 2025, with Alcaraz winning that head-to-head, 4-2.
Only time will tell if they will play their first final of 2026 in Qatar, but you certainly wouldn’t want to bet against it.
They won’t want to get ahead of themselves, though, and first, Alcaraz will play Royer, and Sinner will play Alexei Popyrin in the second round on Wednesday, February 18.
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