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Carlos Alcaraz Names Rival Who Was 'Unplayable' When They Stepped on Court

Oct 28, 2026, 4:18 PM GMT

Marcus is a sports journalist with more than five years of experience, specializing in Football, Formula 1 and Tennis.

He was a football network writer for Reach PLC, writing for pages such as the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo and Football.London.


From 2022 to 2026, Marcus worked for SPORTbible, playing a role in growing the brand’s F1 output and audience, as well as covering a wide range of sports including boxing, MMA, darts and athletics.
 

So far in his career, Marcus has interviewed some of the biggest names in different sports, including the likes of Max Verstappen, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ashley Cole, Jenson Button, Fred Vasseur and Tim Henman.

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World number three Carlos Alcaraz has named one of his rivals as ‘unplayable’ after a recent practice session.

Alcaraz, 23, is tipped to become one of the greatest players in tennis history, having already won seven Grand Slam titles, including two US Open titles, two Wimbledon crowns, two French Opens and one Australian Open.

This season, the Spaniard has only won one Grand Slam title, having been hit with a wrist injury that made him miss the French Open and Wimbledon.

Alcaraz's rival, Jannik Sinner, has also endured an injury-hit season, but is expected to return to action in December.

Recently, Alcaraz played his first-round match at the Vienna Open, beating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 and will await the winner of Jurij Rodionov vs Nikoloz Basilashvili in the next round.

Carlos Alcaraz Names Rival Player Who Was 'Unplayable'

Carlos Alcaraz

As reported by Tennis 365, Alcaraz recently stated that Andrey Rublev was ‘unplayable’ during a practice session, despite the Russian’s first-round defeat against American Tommy Paul.

Alcaraz claimed that Rublev beat him 6-2 during a practice set and hit some brilliant forehands and powerful backhands.

He said: “Sometimes it’s really hard to see things for what they are, you know. When I was practicing with Rublev, I lost 6-2, but I was playing well. He was unplayable. He hit every forehand full out and hit very powerful backhands.

“I couldn’t be aggressive at all, not even on one or two shots. That’s why I left the court a little unhappy, but at the same time telling myself: okay, I’m doing the right things.

“You know, sometimes in tennis you play against someone who tries not to let you play. But that day, I left the court thinking about what I had done well. I think I did a lot of good things, to be honest. I also learned a lot from these sessions.”

Andrey Rublev

In truth, Alcaraz was not even meant to play at the Vienna Open, but accepted a late wildcard entry after the Six Kings Slam was delayed until December.

Having recently lost to Rublev, Alcaraz will be happy to see his rival dumped out in the first round as the pair were drawn in the same half and would have met in the last eight.

Now, looking ahead, should Alcaraz get there, it will most likely be Rublev’s conqueror, Paul, waiting for him in the quarter-final. Before that though, the American will have to navigate a tricky round of 16 tie against Italian Luciano Darderi.

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