The 2023 Carlos Alcaraz tennis season officially began on 16 January 2023, with the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Due to injury, Alcaraz withdrew from the Australian Open and made his season debut at the Argentina Open instead.
During this season, Alcaraz: Won his first Wimbledon title (second major title overall) Won his third and fourth Masters 1000 titles (Madrid and Indian Wells) Won his first and second grass court tournaments Recorded his 100th career victory Clinched the world number 1 ranking for a career total of 36 weeks (as of 4 September 2023)
Yearly summary Early hard court season
Australian Open withdrawal Alcaraz withdrew from the Australian Open after suffering an injury to the hamstring in his right leg during preseason training. Following the tournament, Alcaraz lost the world No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic; he had held it for a total of 20 weeks.
Golden Swing
Argentina Open Alcaraz made his season debut in Buenos Aires, where he was playing for the first time. He defeated second seed Cameron Norrie in the final in straight sets to claim his first title since his first major win at the US Open in 2022.
Rio Open The next week, Alcaraz reached the final of the Rio Open, where he was defending champion, also against Norrie; however, he aggravated his leg injury during the match and lost in three sets. Alcaraz then withdrew from the Mexican Open, citing the same injury.
Sunshine Double tournaments
Indian Wells Alcaraz then returned to Indian Wells. He recorded his 100th career win by defeating 31st seed Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, making him the second fastest player to reach this milestone after John McEnroe. He defeated eleventh seed Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, and second seed Daniil Medvedev in the final, to lift the trophy without dropping a single set. This was Alcaraz's eighth career title and third ATP 1000 title. He broke Medvedev's 19-match winning streak, and became the first player to win Indian Wells without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017. He also became the ninth and youngest man to win both legs of the Sunshine Double. As a result, he regained the world No. 1 ranking on 20 March 2023.
Miami Open Alcaraz hoped to complete the Sunshine Double in Miami, where he was the defending champion. He reached the semifinals without dropping a set, defeating Facundo Bagnis, Dušan Lajović, 16th seed Tommy Paul and ninth seed Taylor Fritz. He then lost to Jannik Sinner in three sets. With the loss of his title points, Alcaraz dropped back to No. 2 in the world rankings.
European clay season Alcaraz withdrew from Monte-Carlo, citing "physical discomfort" including post-traumatic arthritis in his left hand and muscular discomfort in his spine.
Barcelona Open Alcaraz defended his title in Barcelona without dropping a set. It took him less than eighty minutes to dispatch second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. This was the first successful title defense of his career.
Madrid Open Alcaraz also successfully defended his title in Madrid, beating lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff in the final in three sets. This was Alcaraz's 21st consecutive match win on Spanish clay.
Italian Open Alcaraz played the Italian Open for the first time in his career. He received a bye into the second round, and retrieved the world No. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic simply by playing that match. He was then upset by world No. 135 Fábián Marozsán in the third round in straight sets. Marozsán became the lowest ranked player to beat Alcaraz since July 2021. Jon Wertheim labelled this the biggest upset of the year.
French Open Alcaraz arrived at Roland Garros in red-hot form, and only dropped one set before the semifinals (to Taro Daniel in the second round). In the semifinals, Alcaraz met Novak Djokovic for their second career meeting. This was a highly anticipated showdown, as the two men had not played a match in over a year despite their ongoing fight over the world No. 1 ranking. The match was competitive until Alcaraz faltered at the start of the third set due to cramps from mental pressure and physical intensity; Djokovic won in four sets, going on to win the tournament and regain the No. 1 ranking.
Grass season
Queen's Club Championships Alcaraz elected to play at the Queen's Club for the first time as a warm-up tournament before Wimbledon. Alcaraz had little experience on grass, and as a Spanish clay courter with a relatively weak serve, was not expected to dominate there. Alcaraz dropped the first set of his first match at Queen's to Arthur Rinderknech. He improved his movement on grass as the match progressed to snatch the second set, and then rallied from a break down to win the third set in a tiebreak, 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(7-3). Alcaraz then sailed through the rest of the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final. This was Alcaraz's first career title on grass in only his third career tournament on grass. This victory also restored him as world No. 1, and positioned him as top seed for Wimbledon.
Wimbledon Despite this victory, expectations remained cautious for Alcaraz at Wimbledon. However, he only dropped two sets en route to the final, where he faced off against seven-time champion and four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic. After being breadsticked in a lopsided first set, Alcaraz regrouped to win the second set in a tiebreak and to breadstick Djokovic back in the third set. He lost the fourth set, but broke early in the fifth to win the match (1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4). The match had lasted four hours and forty-two minutes, and was instantly acclaimed as a modern epic. This was Alcaraz's first Wimbledon title, and his second major title overall. Alcaraz became the only man outside the Big Four to claim the Wimbledon singles title since 2002, before he himself had been born. With this win, Alcaraz became the second player, after Andy Murray, to defeat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final. Additionally, Alcaraz became the first non-"Big 4" player to win Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt's victory in 2002.
Prior to the tournament, Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev had both been in contention to seize the No. 1 ranking. Alcaraz retained the ranking with his victory, and became the first player to qualify for the year-end championships.
North American hard court season
Canadian Open Alcaraz entered the Canadian Open for the second time in his career. He reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to Tommy Paul for the second year in a row. This ended Alcaraz's fourteen-match winning streak.
Cincinnati Open Alcaraz then played in Cincinnati. He was taken to three sets in every round but nevertheless reached the final, where he once again faced off against Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz took an initial lead, but Djokovic fought off a championship point in the second set to eventually win in three. The match was the longest best-of-three-sets ATP Tour final in history, as well as the longest match in the tournament's history, at 3 hours and 49 minutes. It was once again immediately heralded as one of the best matches ever. Alcaraz then entered the US Open as defending champion. Having dropped only one set to reach the semifinal, Alcaraz was then upset in four sets by another former champion, third seed Daniil Medvedev. Following the tournament Alcaraz lost the No. 1 ranking once again to eventual champion Djokovic, who had not been defending any points. He additionally withdrew from the Davis Cup Finals, citing tiredness.
Asian hard court swing
China Open Alcaraz entered the autumn-winter hardcourt season with the goal of gaining the year-end No. 1 ranking. He played the Asian swing for the first time, where his results were mixed. In Beijing, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Shanghai Open Alcaraz lost in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters to Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.
Indoor hard court season Alcaraz withdrew from Basel, citing a left foot injury and muscle fatigue in his lower back.
Paris Masters Alcaraz entered the Paris Masters. He received a bye into the second round, where he was upset by qualifier Roman Safiullin in straight sets. This was Alcaraz's first and only opening round loss of the season.
ATP Finals Alcaraz qualified for the ATP Finals for the second year in a row, and played them for the first time. He lost to Alexander Zverev in the round robin stage but defeated Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev to qualify for the semifinals, where he lost decisively to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets. Alcaraz ended the year ranked No. 2.
All matches
This table chronicles all the matches of Carlos Alcaraz in 2023.
Singles matches
Hopman Cup matches Singles
Mixed doubles
Exhibition matches Singles
Schedule Per Carlos Alcaraz, this is his current 2023 schedule (subject to change).
Singles schedule DateTournamentLocationTierSurfacePrev.resultPrev.pointsNewpointsResult 16 January 2023–29 January 2023 Australian Open Melbourne (AUS) Grand Slam Hard 3R90 0Withdrew 13 February 2023–19 February 2023 Argentina Open Buenos Aires (ARG) 250 Series Clay N/A 0 250Champion (defeated Cameron Norrie, 6–3, 7–5) 20 February 2023–26 February 2023 Rio Open Rio de Janeiro (BRA) 500 Series Clay W 500 300 Final (lost to Cameron Norrie, 7–5, 4–6, 5–7) 27 February 2023–4 March 2023 Mexican Open Acapulco (MEX) 500 Series Hard N/A 0 0 Withdrew 8 March 2023–19 March 2023 Indian Wells Masters Indian Wells (USA) Masters 1000 Hard SF 360 1,000Champion (defeated Daniil Medvedev, 6–3, 6–2) 22 March 2023–2 April 2023 Miami Open Miami (USA) Masters 1000 Hard W 1000 360 Semifinal (lost to Jannik Sinner, 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 2–6) 9 April 2023–16 April 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (FRA) Masters 1000 Clay 2R 10 0 Withdrew 17 April 2023–23 April 2023 Barcelona Open Barcelona (ESP) 500 Series Clay W 500 500 Champion (defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6–3, 6–4) 26 April 2023–7 May 2023 Madrid Open Madrid (ESP) Masters 1000 Clay W 1000 1000 Champion (defeated Jan-Lennard Struff, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3) 10 May 2023–21 May 2023 Italian Open Rome (ITA) Masters 1000 Clay N/A 0 45 Third round (lost to Fábián Marozsán, 3–6, 6–7(4–7)) 28 May 2023–11 June 2023 French Open Paris (FRA) Grand Slam Clay QF 360 720 Semifinal (lost to Novak Djokovic, 3–6, 7–5, 1–6, 1–6)19 June 2023–25 June 2023 Queen's Club Championships London (UK) 500 Series Grass N/A 0 500 Champion (defeated Alex de Minaur, 6–4, 6–4) 3 July 2023–17 July 2023 Wimbledon London (UK) Grand Slam Grass 4R 0 2000 Champion (defeated Novak Djokovic, 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4) 24 July 2023–30 July 2023 Hamburg European Open Hamburg (GER) 500 Series Clay F 300 0 Withdrew 24 July 2023–30 July 2023 Croatia Open Umag (CRO) 250 series Clay F 150 0 7 August 2023–13 August 2023 Canadian Open Toronto (CAN) Masters 1000 Hard 2R 10 180 Quarterfinals (lost to Tommy Paul, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6) 13 August 2023–20 August 2023 Cincinnati Masters Cincinnati (USA) Masters 1000 Hard QF 180 600 Final (lost to Novak Djokovic, 7–5, 6–7(7–9), 6–7(4–7)) 28 August 2023–10 September 2023 US Open New York (USA) Grand Slam Hard W 2000 720 Semifinal (lost to Daniil Medvedev, 6–7(3–7), 1–6, 6–2, 3–6) 28 September 2023–4 October 2023 China Open Beijing (CHN) 500 Series Hard N/A 0 180 Semifinal (lost to Jannik Sinner, 6–7(4–7), 1–6) 4 October 2023–15 October 2023 Shanghai Masters Shanghai (CHN) Masters 1000 Hard N/A 0 90 Fourth round (lost to Grigor Dimitrov, 7–5, 2–6, 4–6) 23 October 2023–29 October 2023 Swiss Indoors Basel (SUI) 500 Series Hard (i) SF 180 0 Withdrew 30 October 2023–5 November 2023 Paris Masters Paris (FRA) Masters 1000 Hard (i) QF 180 10 Second round (lost to Roman Safiullin, 3–6, 4–6)12 November 2023–19 November 2023 ATP Finals Turin (ITA) Tour Finals Hard (i) N/A 0 400 Semifinals (lost to Novak Djokovic, 3–6, 2–6)Total year-end points 6820 8855 2035 difference