Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek won Grand Slam titles this season, they probably wouldn’t be satisfied with how the season went overall. Both players went from dominating the world ranking charts to somewhat, experiencing a sharp twist in their performance and bouts of unexpected defeats and premature exits. Despite making strides in the right direction, Swiatek has faced criticism at times, which, in turn, has elicited a strong response from a former tennis pro.

After an ideal finish to the season’s first half, Polish star Swiatek couldn’t capitalize on her strengths. She managed to walk with an Olympic bronze, despite expressing aspirations for bagging the elusive gold. Months later, she shocked fans after revealing a surprise split with longtime coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. She skipped the Asian hardcourt swing, and joined forces with Wim Fissette, but, her performances have been underwhelming. The Pole even lost to American Coco Gauff in the round-robin second round of the WTA Finals.

With concerns emerging due to her dropped success rate amongst Polish fans, former Wimbledon champion and the current director of the Billie Jean King Cup Conchita Martinez couldn’t help but snub those claims. While talking to ‘Onet’, she illustrated countryman Alcaraz as an example and highlighted that no one should judge players based on their losses. Instead, fans should support them in moments of crisis, knowing their capability to rise again.

Martinez said, “Are you talking about a crisis when she’s number two in the world?! She’s an incredible player, she’s won many titles, she’s won many Grand Slams. Do we expect her to win everything? In Spain, we often say that Carlos Alcaraz is going through a crisis, even though he is one of the top teams. There is no point in trampling players down. It is important to support them positively, not to push them into negative thinking. I think that each one is worth supporting. Even if they lose one match, they are still amazing.”

For those unaware, Alcaraz hasn’t felt at his best for some time. After enduring an emotional hit due to his gold medal match loss to Novak Djokovic in Paris and later, suffering a premature end to his title defense at the US Open, the Spaniard is mentally drained.

Carlos Alcaraz vows to find solutions to play during phases of mental exhaustion

A hectic and long season, almost always coupled with an overwhelming calendar, takes away time to recoup and recover. Carlos Alcaraz has found himself entangled in a similar situation. While he clinched the season’s French Open and the Wimbledon, the young talent isn’t on par with his mental fortitude anymore. We all saw him explode in New York – the Spaniard shattered his racket to pieces after his frustration reached the summit.

After losing to Norwegian Casper Ruud in the ATP Finals opener, the Spaniard told the media in Turin: “Mentally, I am tired. It’s many matches in a very tight schedule, in a demanding year with not too many resting days, there are few periods when you can rest at home. I think I am much better this year than last year, but I have to find a way to play good tennis while being mentally tired.”

However, the 21-year-old has set sights on bagging his maiden title in Turin and concluding the year on an optimistic note. For now, the Spanish sensation battles German rival Alexander Zverev to avoid getting eliminated from the event’s group stages.