Carlos Alcaraz Reveals His Schedule Request for French Open

Originally posted on Serve on SI | By Pat Benson | Last updated May 23, 2025 4:10 PM ET

Almost all of the world's top players have already arrived in Paris for the 2025 French Open. Most of them participated in the media day with brief individual press conferences.

Among those players speaking with the media was ATP World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Fresh off of winning the Italian Open, Alcaraz was more relaxed than usual as he prepares to defend his French Open title.

While plenty of stars garner attention, tennis fans worldwide want to see the defending champion play during the primetime television spot. However, Alcaraz does not want that.

Catherine Whitaker of The Tennis Podcast squeezed in the last question of Alcaraz's press conference. She asked Alcaraz how strong his preference is to play day sessions instead of night sessions.

Alcaraz answered, "I could say my day preference if I want to play a day or night. Honestly, I prefer to play a day because I don't really like the cold (laughs)."

"When you finish a match early, you have a lot of things to do after a match, which is great. The night sessions, when you finish, everything is delayed — treatment, having dinner, you go to bed at 2:00-3:00 a.m., which is super late," said Alcaraz.

He continued, "I don't know how strong it is my preference. I just give them my feedback when I like to play, and usually, they decide. There are a lot of players who give the tournament their preference, and they have to have a fair balance for players."

"I know that I will play night matches, and I have to be ready for that. But I think everyone wants to play in the day," concluded Alcaraz with a smile.

Alcaraz has a record of 30-5 with three titles this season. His French Open campaign begins against Giulio Zeppieri in the first round on the morning of Sunday, May 25.

The French Open runs from May 25 - June 8.

This article first appeared on Serve on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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