Nadal Urges Perspective on Alcaraz: “Is He Supposed to Win All the Matches?”

Rafael Nadal has never been one to lose sight of the bigger picture.

This week, the 22-time major champion offered a timely reminder when asked about Carlos Alcaraz, pushing back on our growing tendency to scrutinize the World No. 1 during weeks in which he looks, dare we say it, human.

Yes, it’s true. Alcaraz was human earlier this month, when he saw his 16-match winning streak snapped by Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells semifinals, and he was human again in Miami, when he suffered a third-round loss to Sebastian Korda.

What’s going on? How dare a player that has thrilled us with his superhuman tendencies ever since he entered the professional ranks, show a glimpse of fallibility?

For Alcaraz—a world-beating 22-year-old who has captivated the sport and piled up titles at an alarming rate over the last three seasons—losses hits different. At least for some. Not Nadal, who can speak from experience and understands the grind of a ceaseless tour, where the caravan never stops and winning every week simply isn’t possible.

“He’s just come off winning the Australian Open, he’s won seven Grand Slams, he’s No. 1 in the world… So, what? Is he supposed to win all of the matches of the year?” Nadal said. “That’s never going to happen. So there’s your answer.”

Nadal, who officially retired in November of 2024 with 1,080 wins and 92 titles to his name, was speaking in Madrid, where he received an honorary doctorate for excellence in sport from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.

It’s natural that Alcaraz’s defeats draw outsized attention. His losses are rare, and his standard is so high that anything short of dominance can feel like a deviation. But part of what makes Alcaraz special is the way he plays—with emotion, with passion, and with a connection to the crowd that pulls fans along for the ride. That kind of all-in intensity is part of his magic, but it also makes it unrealistic to expect him to be at his absolute peak at every event.

But Nadal, who knows better than anyone how unforgiving the tour can be, urged restraint.

“Are we really going to worry about two defeats? I don’t think so,” he said. “That doesn’t make sense, and we shouldn’t demand more from him.”

Instead, Nadal emphasized appreciation over expectation.

“I think what we all have to do is just congratulate Carlos and thank him for everything that he’s accomplishing,” he said.

“In the end, he’s bringing a number of achievements to Spanish sport that, maybe 25 or 30 years ago, we wouldn’t have imagined… Maybe we’ve all gotten too used to it. But I’ve never lost perspective on how difficult the things are that Carlos is doing.”

Three months into a season that has already seen Alcaraz become the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam, Nadal’s message completely on point, as it always has been: step back, take stock, and resist the pull of recency bias.

Perspective, during his career and now as a father figure, remains one of the King of Clay’s greatest assets.