Why is Carlos Alcaraz chasing money instead of Australian Open preparation, questions tennis insider

Steve Flink, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, has questioned certain decisions of Carlos Alcaraz, wondering if the World No. 1 could be making wiser choices by skipping exhibitions in the off-season.

Alcaraz had the best year of his career in 2025, winning two Grand Slam titles and finishing as the World No. 1 over Jannik Sinner. Since his season ended at the ATP Finals (final loss to Sinner), Alcaraz has been busy in the off-season.

After partipating in the Miami Invitational with Joao Fonseca and the Racquet at the Rock with Frances Tiafoe, Alcaraz will play one more event in South Korea before the start of the season.

In light of all this, Steve Flink, speaking on the latest episode of the Court-Side with Beilinson Tennis podcast, stated his belief that Alcaraz should be priortizing training for the Australian Open instead. Flink chastized the Spaniard for going after 'earning money' instead, stating that he has enough time to do that later in his career.

“Carlos has never shown us his best form in Australia… I don’t think Ferrero and his team are very keen on Carlos spending his off-season playing exhibition matches. He has every right to do so, but he has his whole life to earn money. He has so much time to fill his bank account that I think it would have been wiser for him not to participate in these tournaments last year," he said.

Steve Flink brought up Alcaraz's loss to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2025, wondering if that defeat was a result of less-than-par training as well.

"We’ll never know if that played a role in his loss to Novak Djokovic. Novak played an excellent match, but Carlos was also a bit below his usual level. So it will be fascinating to see if he can finally show his best in Australia," he added.

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam Alcaraz is yet to win in his career. Should he do so in 2026, he will go down in history as the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Carlos Alcaraz on his chances at the 2026 Australian Open

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz himself has shown confidence about his chances at the 2026 Australian Open, stating that he looked forward to completing the Career Grand Slam there and starting the year on a bang.

"It is a really good goal for me to complete the Career Grand Slam. I am really looking forward to winning [the Australian Open] one day. I am really excited. The good point is I start the season straight away playing a Grand Slam, which could be tricky with no competition rhythm," Alcaraz said in a conversation with Tennis Channel earlier this year.

Alcaraz's best result at the Australian Open so far has been reaching the quarterfinals.

Edited by Shyam Kamal