Boris Becker shares heartfelt advice he gave Carlos Alcaraz in revealing private chat
04/25/2025 03:30 PM
Tennis icon Boris Becker has voiced his concerns about Carlos Alcaraz’s mental health and questioned the way the Spaniard’s team are handling his career.
Prior to the start of the clay season, Alcaraz spoke candidly about the challenges he dealt with during a difficult period this year.
The four-time major champion described his opening match defeat to David Goffin at the Miami Open as the “final straw” and revealed he had considered stepping away from tennis “for months” afterwards.
"In the end, in these situations, you think about a lot of things, and when something that hurt you is so recent, you never really put it into perspective," the 21-year-old said.
"A lot of thoughts come to mind: stop, stop for a week, skip a tournament, stop for several months, keep training, take a vacation, and then train for what's next…
"A lot of thoughts came to mind, and one of the best things I did was take a few days off and give myself the opportunity to think clearly and put things into perspective, and then decide from there."
Having taken a brief holiday with family after Miami, Alcaraz won the Monte Carlo Masters and reached the final of the Barcelona Open.
On an episode of his podcast with former WTA star Andrea Petkovic, Becker addressed Alcaraz’s struggles and asserted that the world No 3 needs to be protected by those around him.
"We're talking about a 21-year-old who couldn't cope with the expectations and the pressure anymore," said the six-time Grand Slam champion. "We're talking about mental health.
"Someone like that almost reached the point of depression. So those around him have to ask themselves: haven’t we done something wrong? Demanding too much of such a young player? He almost has to act like a machine… at 21 it's hard to say no.
"We have to protect Carlos from himself. But the point is that you can see that he’s overexerting himself, he does too much and I really hope that whether it’s his coach or his manager or his father, they need to [communicate], because we still need him in ten years.
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“He's the most spectacular player on the tour right now, he gets the most spectators in, has the largest fanbase, but he can’t play every week."
The former world No 1 also shed light on a telling conversation he had with Alcaraz at the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony in Madrid on Monday.
Becker told Alcaraz: "This isn't a sprint, your life is a marathon."
Intriguingly, Becker revealed that Alcaraz replied: "You're right. Talk to my people."
The German also shared an experience he went through at the same stage of his own career.
"I was also in that phase when I was 21 to 22, when you’re not doing it from your heart, you’re running from one commitment to the next, and the contracts are very high-paying, and the tournaments have signed contracts, which means you are contractually bound and only an injury can save you, but that is not how it should be, which is why I was worried for him,” he explained.
“I hope he will be fit again in time to defend his title at Roland Garros.”
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