Carlos Alcaraz urges every ATP player to play in South America

Carlos Alcaraz showed up to his first Miami Open press conference earlier this week wearing a Brazil football shirt, and he had a good reason for it.

With the draw already pointing towards a potential third-round clash with Joao Fonseca, anticipation was building. Now that match is officially set.

The outfit choice also led to questions about tennis in South America during his media duties.

There have been talks about how marketable this part of the tour really is, with some even suggesting that a switch in surface could help attract more attention. Alcaraz now seems to agree with those views.

Carlos Alcaraz speaks positively about the South American stretch of the tennis tour

“It’s a beautiful swing, although it’s very tough if I’m honest,” he insisted. However, that was through no fault of their own, but rather the schedule which forces them into such a small, strangely-selected window that encourages players to jump from Australia to South America before heading over to America.

For many players, that schedule just doesn’t work, and it goes a long way towards explaining why some top names choose not to take part.

Alcaraz acknowledged this reality but went on to say: “It’s beautiful. The people get really involved in tennis; the fans there are incredible. I received loads of support, which I loved. We’ll see if they keep playing it because it’s a swing that personally I’d love to experience again.”

There have been discussions about switching surfaces as a way to attract more top talent. Still, Alcaraz didn’t sound convinced by the idea: “It’s going through a tricky moment; I’ve heard lots of players, especially the South Americans, saying that they mustn’t change it or change the surface. Personally when I went there, I loved it.”

“To the players who haven’t been, I’d say that at least once in their career they’ve got to experience that because, to be honest, it’s one of the most brilliant ones I’ve had when it comes to swings.”

This follows remarks from Stefanos Tsitsipas explaining his reasons for never playing in South America—comments that didn’t go down well with some fellow pros.

Joao Fonseca opens up on surface switch for Rio Open

Fonseca’s push for the Rio Open to make a significant change underscores how pressing the issue has become for South American tennis.

The feeling among many is that they need to do whatever it takes to draw bigger names to their events.

Speaking about his home tournament, Fonseca said: “I see that the Rio Open really has something special: they treat the players differently, they care.

“I’ve talked to many players, and many like it; they’d like to visit Brazil, but it’s tough, right? Because the tour right now is dominated by fast courts.

“I think that, going forward, if the tournament has the chance to switch surfaces, it would be very beneficial.

“Overall, the Rio Open has potential, both in organisation and in the team that works here, to become an even bigger tournament in the future. But I believe the surface change is essential for growth.”

It speaks volumes about where things stand when even local talents like Fonseca feel a major shift might be needed for progress.

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