 "Carlson Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance have led to a slow court theory. Image: Reuters")
The records don’t support Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev’s claims that the pace of tennis courts is being homogenised to suit Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz and Sinner have been massively successful recently, with the duo winning all eight Grand Slam titles in the last two years.
However, Federer and Zverev have sparked a new debate against Alcaraz and Sinner with claims about tennis courts assisting them . The 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer said that tournaments are preparing slower courts to help Alcaraz and Sinner make deep runs.
“I understand the safety net that the tournament directors see in making the surface slower,” Federer said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast during the Laver Cup.
“It’s for the weaker player — he has to hit extra amazing shots to beat Sinner, whereas if it’s quick, he can only maybe blast a few and, at the right time… and he gets past.
“So that’s what the tournament directors are [thinking], like: ‘I kind of like Sinner-Alcaraz in the finals, you know? It kind of works for the game’.”
Zverev supports Federer’s claims about tennis courts
Zverev made a similar point about tennis courts during the Shanghai Masters, as he felt that it was handing an advantage to Alcaraz and Sinner.
“I hate when it’s the same, to be honest,” he said. “I think the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament and that’s what they prefer.
“Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it, I’m not a fan of it. I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety and I think we’re lacking that right now.”
Overall, Federer and Zverev’s criticism of tennis courts is true. The tennis courts are not as extreme as they were once. Earlier, there was a massive difference between the pace of grass courts, which were very fast and clay courts, which have always been slower. But that difference has come down in recent times.
Records prove Sinner, Alcaraz are equally good on slow courts
But are courts being made slower to help Alcaraz and Sinner? The records of the two players speak otherwise.
Sinner has won 22 titles across all four current courts (grass, clay, outdoor hard and indoor hard), but only one of them has come on a clay surface, the slowest of all. That was the 250-level win at Umag in 2022.
The four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner has won two titles on grass and seven on indoor hard courts, considered to be the fastest among all surfaces.
Alcaraz has won a lot on clay courts. Two of his six Grand Slams and 11 of his 24 titles have come on clay courts, but he has also proven to be a beast on faster surfaces. He has a 35-4 record on grass courts, having won Wimbledon twice. His win-loss ratio on grass courts is the best for a male player in the Open Era.
The Spaniard is also the youngest male player to win titles on all four court surfaces, which he achieved at the age of 21 at the Rotterdam Open in February.
If we go by these records, Sinner and Alcaraz appear to be players who are just as difficult to beat on faster surfaces as on slower ones.