How Alcaraz ‘pushes opponents to the limit’

Carlos Alcaraz produces fearless ball-striking and electrifying shotmaking that make him one of the most exciting players to watch on the ATP Tour. Still 21 years old, the Spaniard may make his share of high-risk, high-reward plays, but key stats confirm that Alcaraz’s electrifying groundstrokes are anchoring his strong 2024 season, which sees him on the cusp of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Alcaraz ranks second in both forehand (8.62) and backhand shot quality (8.24) this season, according to Tennis Data Innovations, in partnership with TennisViz. Shot quality is calculated in real time by analyzing speed, spin, depth, width and the impact of each shot on the opponent.

Update recording quality 🚨

The latest top 5⃣ rankings below👀

See the thread for service, return and backhand…

Context: Tour Gem.

Serve 7.9

Return 6.5

Forehand 7.5

Backhand 7.1#TennisInsights | @atptour photo.twitter.com/NrGNOOSyNh

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) September 12, 2024

“I think I always push my opponents to the limit. I try to be aggressive all the time, just to play different shots,” Alcaraz said recently. “I think I’m going to tell my opponent the worst, they don’t know what’s going to happen. They have to be aggressive. They have to defend well if they want to stay in the point.”

The data and the results on the court go hand in hand. Alcaraz has won two of the season’s four majors and this year’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. The only player Alcaraz has in forehand and backhand stroke quality is rival and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who won both hardcourt Slams this season. (Click here to read our article on Sinner’s baseline dominance in 2024.)

Quality of forehand shots (2024)

Quality of backhand shot (2024)

Alcaraz’s firepower rarely wanes, regardless of which wing or where he is on the court. His topspin forehand speed of 78 mph is 3 mph above the Tour average, and his forehand rpm of 3208 vs. the Tour average of 2708 rpm reflects the weight of his shot. His topspin backhand speed of 73 mph is 5 mph faster than the Tour average, and his topspin backhand rpm is 2005, well above the Tour average of 1775.

Upon his return, the 15-time Tour title holder is third in terms of return leg quality (7.78), behind second-placed Daniil Medvedev (7.78) and Sinner (8.04).

In all three categories, the Spaniard is just behind the 30-year-old Novak Djokovic, who is directly below him in the PIF ATP rankings: Novak Djokovic, who has won 99 trophies at tour level in his illustrious career.

The Serb defeated Alcaraz in the Olympic gold medal match in Paris to capture his ‘Golden Slam’ — winning all four majors and an Olympic gold medal. In a hard-fought match, Djokovic delivered perhaps his best performance of the season, coming just weeks after losing to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final for the second year in a row.

Quality of the return recording (2024)

Traditional thinking might be that the game’s best servers, this deep into the season, would also be Top 10 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, putting them in good position to earn a spot in the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals. But in TDI’s shot quality serve leaders, only one of the Top 5 players is also Top 10 in the Race: the 6’6” Zverev.

In fact, this year’s champion of Rome is the only player to appear on all four lists for shot quality.

Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, at 6’8″, stands head and shoulders above the rest with his serving quality (9.38). The 21-year-old has had a breakthrough season after winning his first tour title in Lyon and later reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon. At the All England Club he defeated 20th-seeded Sebastian Korda in the first round, with Mpetshi Perricard hitting 51 aces.

Also among the leaders in serve quality is Milos Raonic, not far behind (9.32) Mpetshi Perricard. Reilly Opelka and Hubert Hurkacz are among the Top 5.

Serve Shot Quality (2024)

(NEWSLETTER FORM)