Carlos Alcaraz will not compete in any events before the first Grand Slam of the year in January, as his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero recently explained. At the ATP Finals in Turin, Alcaraz lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, capping his 2023 campaign.

Alcaraz finished as the world No. 2 after having a career-best season in which he won six titles and gained a stellar 65-12 (84.4%) record. The Spaniard won two ATP 500 events, two Masters 1000 titles, and an ATP 250 title, but his victory at Wimbledon—where he defeated Novak Djokovic in a thrilling five-set match—was the high point.

Alcaraz, however, lost four of his final six matches of the season. He also failed to win another title and only made it to one final out of the eight events he participated in.

Tommy Paul was defeated 7-6, 6-3 by Alcaraz on Wednesday in an exhibition match held in front of nearly 30,000 spectators at the Plaza de Toros Mexico in Mexico City.

After that, Alcaraz will work out with Ferrero at his coach’s academy until Christmas, then he will play Djokovic in an exhibition match on December 27 in Saudi Arabia.

The 20-year-old will train for a week at Ferrero’s academy after his trip to Riyadh. Then, he will fly to Melbourne to practice on-site before the Australian Open. Before the Grand Slam, Alcaraz is anticipated to participate in the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament in Melbourne, though the lineup has not yet been finalized.

Carlos Alcaraz in 2023

Ranked no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 18^th of November when he was overcome by world no.1 Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).

This year the Spaniard achieved a composed 65-12 match record. Carlos conquered 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. Carlos was the runner-up in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.