Carlos Alcaraz arrived at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 on Monday with a renewed sense of purpose, fresh off an unexpected and morale-boosting victory at the Monte Carlo Masters. Reflecting on the win, he admitted it was a surprise even to him. “I wasn’t expecting to win, just to get some time on clay, and ending up winning the title gives me a lot of confidence for what is to come,” he said.
His 2025 season prior to Monte Carlo had been inconsistent. While he clinched a title in Rotterdam, he also experienced a quarterfinal exit in Doha and a semifinal defeat at Indian Wells. But one tournament in particular left a lasting emotional impact: the Miami Open. Following his loss to Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semifinals—a match where he admitted focusing too much on his opponent’s game rather than his own—Alcaraz experienced a crisis of confidence. It marked one of the first times he truly doubted himself since an earlier loss to Jiri Lehecka in Qatar.
The defeat in Miami compounded that self-doubt. Despite being a former champion at the event and having expectations to reach at least the semifinals, Alcaraz suffered a shocking first-round loss to David Goffin. The match started well for the Spaniard, who took the opening set 7-5, but Goffin dominated the remainder, closing out the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Alcaraz described this loss as “the final straw.”
In a later interview, he opened up about the emotional toll these back-to-back defeats had on him. He admitted that after Miami, he felt completely lost. “It was hard for me to go out in the press. I didn’t even know what I was going to say,” he said. Alcaraz explained that a flood of conflicting thoughts entered his mind—considering taking a break from tournaments, skipping events, or even stepping away from the sport temporarily. Ultimately, he decided to give himself a few days off to clear his head, gain perspective, and decide on a course of action.
That reset seemed to work wonders. When he returned to action at the Monte Carlo Masters, he found his rhythm again. In the final, despite dropping the first set to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, Alcaraz came back in dominant fashion. Musetti, hampered by a leg injury, couldn’t keep up as Alcaraz closed out the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. The victory marked Alcaraz’s first Monte Carlo Masters title and his sixth career Masters 1000 title overall. With this achievement, he joined an elite group of Spanish players to have won the tournament—his idol Rafael Nadal leading the list with a record 11 titles. Nadal even took to social media to congratulate him, calling Monte Carlo a “special place.”
Now Alcaraz is turning his focus to the Barcelona Open, a tournament he has won twice in a row (2022 and 2023) and considers to be like home. He began his 2025 campaign there with a straight-set victory over American Ethan Quinn, 6-2, 7-6(6), extending his winning streak in Barcelona to 10 matches. Speaking after the win, Alcaraz expressed how much playing in Spain meant to him: “It’s a privilege for me to return to Barcelona, which I feel was and is my home.”
Up next for the 21-year-old is a second-round match against Laslo Djere of Serbia, a player he already leads 1-0 in head-to-head matchups. Given his current form and momentum, Alcaraz appears to be the favorite to advance further, possibly even toward a third consecutive title at the event. The question now is whether Monte Carlo was just the beginning of a resurgence—and if Alcaraz is ready to step into the role of Spain’s next great champion.