“I left the court smiling”: How Carlos Alcaraz reset after Wimbledon loss

CINCINNATI, Ohio—Carlos Alcaraz arrived to the Cincinnati Open feeling no ill effects from losing his Wimbledon crown last month, the Spaniard confessing it took “hours, not days” to recover from a four-set finals defeat to Jannik Sinner.

“I obviously didn’t want to lose any finals that I play, even more if it’s a Wimbledon final or a Grand Slam final,” said Alcaraz, who had been a perfect 5-0 in major finals—including back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 2023 and 2024. “I left the court happy. I left the court proud. I left the court smiling, just thinking, ‘Ok, at some point, I have to lose a Grand Slam final. Everyone does.’ I’m just proud.

“Obviously, there are lots of things I have to improve from that match, but it took me hours, not even days. I had to be grateful for everything I’ve achieved, that I’m living, and being in a Wimbledon final was more than that. Even though I lost it, I left the court proud and happy with everything I did.”

I left the court happy. I left the court proud. I left the court smiling, just thinking, "Ok, at some point, I have to lose a Grand Slam final. Everyone does." Carlos Alcaraz on his reaction to losing the 2025 Wimbledon final

From there, the former world No. 1 quickly switched off for a brief summer vacation. He enjoyed a week off before slowly resuming his training for the upcoming US Open swing.

“For myself, when I’m off, I’m off,” smiled Alcaraz, who is seeded No. 2 in Cincinnati. “I don’t step into the gym at all. A lot of times my friends, if we go for a trip sometimes, they go to the gym.

“The first week that I had off, I told them, ‘Ok, I’m going to join you just for a little run,’ but then I woke up and said ‘Go, I’m going to keep sleeping!’ I’m just waiting for them with breakfast. I’m already eating!”

Having withdrawn from the National Bank Open in Toronto, the 22-year-old returns to actions with a refreshed mind, and eppears eager to claim one of only four Masters tournaments to elude him. He came close to lifting the Cincinnati title in 2023, but lost a thrilling final to Novak Djokovic.

At the major tournaments, Sinner has become his closest rival: the pair have split the last seven trophies—Sinner winning four, Alcaraz winning three. They have also split split the last two Grand Slam finals—Alcaraz defeating Sinner at Roland Garros before Sinner got his revenge at Wimbledon, making the US Open an intriguing battleground for the world’s Top 2 players. Sinner is the defending champion in both New York and Cincinnati, while Alcaraz has not won the US Open since his maiden major victory in 2022.

“I’m really happy to be building such a great rivalry against Jannik,” said Alcaraz, who still leads Sinner 8-5 in their head-to-head. Jannik and I, we’ve done great things in tennis already in such a short period. I let the people talk about our rivalry or the things we have done for the history books. I’m thinking about the history we’re making in tennis, but I think we have such long careers ahead, just to see how far we can go. If we already made history in tennis or not, that’s just for the people to discuss.”

Alcaraz will face either Mattia Bellucci or Damir Dzumhur in Cincinnati after a first-round bye.