Carlos Alcaraz has already confirmed one grass tournament for the 2025 season as the 21-year-old Spaniard has signed up to play at the cinch Championships, the event announced.
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For the world No. 3 - who made his debut at the Queen's Club in 2023 - it will be his third consecutive appearance at the event.
In 2022, the Spanish tennis star was scheduled to play at the prestigious grass tournament for the first time. But sadly, it didn't happen because he was forced to withdraw from the tournament.
However, Alcaraz was able to compete at Queen's in 2023. And it was quite a debut after he made it all the way and won his first grass title there. This year, he returned to defend his title but fell short in his bid after losing to Jack Draper in the round-of-16.
The Spaniard maybe didn't have a great campaign at the cinch Championships this year but he still enjoys playing at the tournament very much so agreeing to come back in 2025 was a no-brainer.
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"I cant wait to get back on the grass at The Queens Club next summer,. Lifting the title two years ago is what gave me the belief to go on and win Wimbledon for the first time, so it always means a lot to compete there. Im ready to come back again in 2025 and give it my all to try and win another trophy. I want to join amazing players like (Andy) Murray, (Feliciano) Lopez, (Andy) Roddick, etc in winning this title multiple times and Im confident that I can achieve that. I love playing in front of the fans in London, the LTA puts on a great event and I hope I can have another successful summer in the UK," Alcaraz said in a statement.
Do you remember why Alcaraz's 2023 Queen's was so surprising?
Although the Spaniard had won a Grand Slam and reached the world No. 1 spot already in 2022, he didn't hide that he didn't feel comfortable on grass. Going into the 2023 grass swing, the now four-time Grand Slam champion admitted that he didn't have many expectations for Queen's or Wimbledon.
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But then, Alcaraz went on to beat Arthur Rinderknech, Jiri Lehecka, Grigor Dimitrov, Sebastian Korda and Alex de Minaur to claim the Queen's title. Following a straight-set semifinal win over Korda, the 21-year-old candidly admitted he didn't expect to play so well on the fastest tennis surface or be in the final.
I surprised myself honestly with the level that Im playing right now, how Im feeling on court. I didnt expect to feel that in just six days. I mean, I came here just to get experience, to get out on court and practising and playing with these kind of players and is a good preparation for Wimbledon, but I didnt expect at the beginning of the week that Im gonna be in the final and playing such a good level," Alcaraz said after reaching the 2023 Queen's final.
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Why the Queen's victory was the key to Alcaraz's Wimbledon success?
As mentioned above, the world No. 3 made it clear that he didn't feel like a favorite for the 2023 Wimbledon title when the grass season started. But after winning five matches at the Queen's Club and lifting his first grass title, the Spaniard's attitude changed and he declared himself "a Wimbledon favorite."
I see Wimbledon as the most beautiful tournament on the tour. Its a tournament that I really wanted to win someday. And I have a lot of confidence to make that dream possible this year. I just played 11 matches in my career on grass, so I have to get more experience, more hours. But obviously after beating amazing guys, and with the level that I played, I consider myself one of the favorites to win Wimbledon," Alcaraz said at the time.
Novak is the main favorite to win Wimbledon, thats obvious. But I will try to play at this level, to have chances to beat him. I will have chances, thats for sure. But I see Novak as the main favorite. This is not going to change that.
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After this statement, the Spanish tennis star also won seven matches at The Championships - including a thriller final win over Novak Djokovic - to become a Wimbledon champion. Later, he highlighted that the Queen's title played a big part in what happened at The All England Club.
This year, Alcaraz returned to Wimbledon and successfully defended his title after beating Djokovic in the final for a second consecutive year.
In 2025, the Spaniard will certainly hope to do well at the Queen's Club and put himself in a strong spot ahead of another Wimbledon title defense.
