Carlos Alcaraz issues fitness update ahead of the ATP Finals after being seen with tape on his knee

Alcaraz has been placed in the Ivan Lendl group for the round robin stage, which also consists of Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and his first opponent, Frances Tiafoe.

Carlos Alcaraz explains the tape on his knee in training

In a training session ahead of the ATP Finals, Alcaraz was spotted wearing tape on his knee, which sparked concerns among fans. He also ended a practice session with Cobolli 20 minutes early on Friday due to a stomach issue.

Days before his opener against Tiafoe, Alcaraz issued an update on where he is at physically. In a pre-tournament press conference, the 23-year-old said: “I would say I’ve just been playing a lot of matches in not too many days.

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“There were really physically demanding matches which some problems came up in, which is normal I would say for a tennis player and right now I’m just taking care of it. It’s just precaution. Right now I’m just feeling good and I’m just going to try and still take care of it and be ready.”

Alcaraz has played more matches than any of the other seven ATP Finals participants in the last few weeks. He has won two consecutive tournaments on the ATP Tour, emerging victorious at the Vienna Open before triumphing at the Paris Masters for the first time.

He will have had just over a week between his last match at the Paris Masters and his first match at the ATP Finals, as opposed to Zverev, whose last appearance on the tour was a first-round loss to Lorenzo Musetti in the French capital on November 4.

Alcaraz is making his fourth appearance at the ATP Finals, having made his debut at the prestigious competition back in 2023, when he reached the semifinals.

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