Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs has argued that Carlos Alcaraz needs to adjust his game in order to win on fast indoor courts ahead of the 2024 ATP Finals.

The former doubles world number 1 highlighted that Alcaraz’s legendary compatriot Rafael Nadal has adapted his style to succeed on grass pitches.

Alcaraz has yet to win a title or reach a final at an indoor tournament, having won eight titles on clay, five on outdoor hard courts and three on grass.

The 21-year-old Spaniard fell in the third round on the indoor hard courts of the Paris Masters to Ugo Humbert last week.

The four-time Grand Slam champion questioned the speed of the court at the Masters 1000 event after his two matches.

“This court… I mean, I don’t want to say anything that sounds like an excuse,” Alcaraz said after his loss to Humbert.

“When I played the first match, the stats said it was the fastest court in the Masters 1000, probably on the tour right now. It’s crazy. I don’t know. Probably and the fastest, you know, the last ten years in this tournament.

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“So I don’t know why they do that. I don’t know why they changed the court compared to other tournaments and obviously in the same tournament, compared to other years.

“It surprised me a little, so I came here with few days left. I probably should have come earlier to get used to these conditions, but I didn’t. But honestly, all I can say is that I don’t understand why they did this.

Speaking on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis PodcastStubbs responded to Alcaraz’s complaints about Paris conditions and urged the world number 3 to change his approach when playing indoors.

“If you have a fast court, you can get into the net because it’s harder to adjust your position to make a game-winning passing shot when you’re in a hurry,” Stubbs said.

“So, fast indoor courts, sorry Carlos, you’re going to have to adjust your game. Otherwise you won’t win indoors. It’s the same as Rafa.

“Rafa had to adjust his style of lawn tennis back when grass was a little faster. (When) it started to slow down, he started standing on the baseline, flattening his forehand, flattening his serve.

“Because he knew that if: ‘I want to win Wimbledon, I have to play at grass speed’.” And he won Wimbledon. He was the type of player who adjusted his game to win on fast surfaces.

“And the first thing Alcaraz said when he lost his match was, ‘The courts were so fast I didn’t get here in time to practice.’ It was my fault, yada yada.

“It feels like this is exactly what I was talking about. Yes, we need to have surfaces that reward players who play fast, who play serve and volley, who go into the net.

“Like 89% of the tour is played on a slow hard court, either clay or grass – which, by the way, has been slowed to the wazoo.”

Alcaraz will next compete in the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin, where play begins on Sunday. He is in the same group as Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.

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