Greg Rusedski has theorised that Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury came from “overplaying” – and taking part in a number of exhibitions didn’t help.

The Spaniard was on top of the world after becoming the youngest man ever to complete the career Grand Slam when he won this year’s Australian Open at the age of 22.

The seven-time major winner seemed to be distancing himself from the rest of the ATP Tour, including Jannik Sinner, only for the Italian to win the Sunshine Double and beat Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo Masters final.

Then, a wrist injury reared its ugly head in mid-April, something that sidelined him for more than four months. The 23-year-old has been in impressive form during his comeback at the US Open, but looking forward, Alcaraz wants to give himself more breaks.

Alcaraz told reporters this week, “In the future, I’m going to take some breaks. Maybe not four months, but one month, two months, missing some tournaments, because it’s impossible to play them all.”

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World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka admitted she would love for the tennis calendar to be reformed amid a worrying number of injury withdrawals.

Now, former US Open finalist Rusedski has given his two cents on the matter. He believes that Alcaraz and his former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero had a difference of opinion on the Spaniard playing extra exhibition events and that it is important to find a balance with your schedule to prevent injury.

He said on Off Court, “Well, I think a certain coach by the name of Juan Carlos Ferrero was talking about stop chasing the money at the exhibitions, let’s get a proper schedule, let’s figure out how we’re going to work this financially between the two of us, and he’s finally figured it out.

“Why did he [Alcaraz] get injured? He overplayed. It’s as simple as that. You cannot play every exhibition during the off season, expect to be fit and not break down. It’s humanly not possible, no matter how great you are.”

Back in February 2025, Ferrero actually defended Alcaraz’s decision to play exhibition games ahead of his match against Frances Tiafoe in Puerto Rico.

He said at the time, “They allow you to relax a little, they are played in a different way. But there’s a certain level of intensity and demand. Playing this type of match with a smile, putting on a show for the fans, it always helps to relax a bit.”

Alcaraz – who played the second-most matches behind Alexander Zverev in 2025 – also played in the ‘Netflix Slam’ with Rafael Nadal in 2024, the Six Kings Slam in the past two years, and with Joao Fonseca in Miami in 2025.

Incidentally, former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli previously claimed that Ferrero did “not agree with” Alcaraz’s exhibition-heavy schedule and that contributed to their split last December.

Regardless, Rusedski thinks it is wise that Alcaraz manages his body a bit better going forward.

He continued, “There’s still a chance you could get injured. For example, Sinner with his knee, which I think was a slip at Wimbledon in that opening round, which caused the problem for him. And then Alcaraz playing too much tennis, that puts a lot of strain on your body.

“So I think he’s going to find the balance of tournaments and get it right. And he’s just got to accept, I can’t go to every single exhibition. This is what happens.”

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