Carlos Alcaraz is about to face his first grass court match of 2025, and it’s not going to be against the player he was expecting.
Making the switch from clay to grass is always tough for tennis players. The surfaces are completely different – clay is slow with high bounces, while grass is fast and the ball stays low. That’s why most pros try to get on grass courts as quickly as possible once the season starts.
But Alcaraz couldn’t do that this year.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | 22 | 68,791 | 25 - 5 |
He was busy playing at Roland Garros, and the grass season literally starts just one day after the Paris final. Talk about a quick turnaround.
So he signed up for the Queen’s Club Championships instead, which happens in the second week of the grass season. It’s an ATP 500 tournament, and unlike some events, there aren’t any first-round byes here. Even top players like Alcaraz have to start from round one.
His participation was actually in doubt for a while, but the 22-year-old Spaniard made it to London and he’s ready to play.
Originally, Alcaraz was supposed to face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his opening match. They’re good friends and fellow Spaniards, so it would’ve been a familiar opponent to help him ease into grass season.
But that’s not happening anymore.
Davidovich Fokina withdrew from the tournament right before their match. Now Alcaraz will face Adam Walton, a lucky loser who got into the main draw when someone else pulled out.
The good news? Walton is ranked much lower than Davidovich Fokina and has way less experience at this level.
The not-so-good news? Alcaraz has no idea what to expect from him.
Walton is a 26-year-old Australian who actually lost in the final round of qualifying to Aleksandar Vukic. He only got into the main draw because someone else withdrew. But he does have three grass court matches under his belt already this season, which gives him a small edge in terms of getting used to the surface.
For Alcaraz, this will be his very first match on grass this year. It’s also the first time he’ll ever play Walton.
Samuel Lopez, one of Alcaraz’s coaches, talked about what the five-time Grand Slam champion needs right now. Getting match practice is crucial for adjusting to grass, and the Walton match might actually be perfect for that.
"We came here with little time, but with enthusiasm and excitement. He really enjoys playing on this surface, on grass, and with the positive energy of another year of coming off a Roland Garros victory. Winning (in Paris) is a plus. There’s little time to prepare for this, but we’re taking it as an adaptation to the grass. The more games we win here, the better."
Lopez knows it won’t be easy, though.
"The objective for a player like him is that you come to the tournaments to win, but being aware that the important thing is to continue preparing and accepting that it is not going to be easy, after such a long clay tour and now changing surfaces and that the sensations are different and difficult to get."
That pretty much sums up the challenge. Alcaraz spent months playing on clay, where he just won Roland Garros. Now he’s got to completely rewire his game for grass in just a few days.
If he gets through Walton, Alcaraz will face either Jaume Munar (another Spaniard) or Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the next round.
