Weapon Wednesday: Why Carlos Alcaraz's powerful forehand begins with his feet

“Was that a forehand, or a bolt of lightning?” one Eurosport commentator exclaimed, after a particularly deadly shot from Carlos Alcaraz. It’s been called a “killer forehand” by renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou, and hailed as one of the best shots among the next generation of ATP talents.

We’ve almost run out of adjectives to describe it, but what exactly makes 19-year-old Alcaraz’s forehand so special, and so effective?

The young Spaniard has long been compared to his countryman Rafael Nadal, and for good reason. Watching Alcaraz rise through the ranks has been reminiscent of the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s own teenage breakthrough, especially when Alcaraz began to set and break “youngest player” records set by Nadal himself.

But on the court, Alcaraz and his coach, former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, both agree that his playing style is reminiscent of the rest of the Big Three.

“If I have to say someone that I can compare him to, it’s the game of Novak Djokovic or maybe Roger Federer,” Ferrero said back in 2020, when Alcaraz was still 16. “They like to be aggressive from the baseline and they can go to the net to finish the point.”

The setup

Part of what makes playing Alcaraz such a challenge on the ATP Tour is that his combination of baseline power and court coverage often smothers players before they can even get going—keeping Alcaraz in control of the rallies and not letting opponents play their game.

In order to achieve this, the Spaniard has to keep his groundstroke preparation short. In his analysis of Alcaraz’s forehand, Mouratoglou—the former coach of Serena Williams—highlighted this efficient motion as one of the keys to its power.

“He starts his forehand motion very early,” Mouratoglou said in an Instagram video. “He positions his body and starts his backswing well before the ball touches the ground.

"His preparation is short and simple. This gives him plenty of time to prepare for the ball and avoid being late.”

With enough time to prepare for the shot, Alcaraz likes to stay aggressive, taking the ball early and unloading at the right opportunity—leaving opponents on the back foot.

The weapon

There’s another reason that Alcaraz gets a lot of Nadal comparisons: they’ve both loaded their forehands with “crazy” amounts of topspin, adding another layer of complication their opponents must deal with in rallies.

“Carlos Alcaraz extends his right arm long before he hits and keeps it extended until the end of his motion,” Mouratoglou said in his analysis. “This distance he creates generates more racquet speed because the further the weight is from the center point, the faster it moves…

“Before contact, you can see that his wrist loosens up and drops which helps him get under the ball and create crazy spin."

Another factor is Alcaraz’s power. It comes as a combination of his technique, engaging his legs and exploding out from his feet and through the shot, and from his own physical evolution over the years. According to his coach Ferrero, Alcaraz gained more than “two or three kilos of muscle” since winning his first ATP match in 2020 Rio de Janeiro.

“He got bigger and he has so much more confidence that he can handle the match at the same strong level against whoever he is playing,” Ferrero told ATPTour.com in 2021.

The result was plain to see at that year’s US Open: Alcaraz’s average forehand speed during the tournament was 78 mph—three miles per hour faster than the rest of the men’s field.