Carlos Alcaraz hit a low point when he destroyed his racket on the match court.

Carlos Alcaraz destroyed his racket at last year’s Cincinnati Open (Image: Tennis TV)

Carlos Alcaraz has rarely let his frustrations show on the tennis court. But, at last year’s Cincinnati Open, he sent shockwaves through the tennis world when he obliterated a racket during his opening-round exit. And the 21-year-old has now given a raw and emotional insight into one of the most “difficult” moments in his career, revealing he almost stopped playing tennis altogether.

Alcaraz and his team addressed the incident in his new Netflix docuseries, My Way, in which the Spaniard’s long-time agent, Albert Molina, claimed he hit “rock bottom” following a heartbreaking result at the Olympics.

The world No. 3 went from the highest highs to the lowest lows in the 2024 season. After winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, he was left in tears during the Paris Olympic Games.

Alcaraz teamed up with Rafael Nadal in one of the 38-year-old’s last-ever tournaments, but they lost in the doubles quarter-final, failing to get a medal. He then reached the singles final, losing to Novak Djokovic and bursting into tears during a TV interview.

Looking back on the 21-year-old’s emotional reaction, Molina said: “Carlos had a hard time. He was also very tired after playing all week long. He had played singles and doubles, and that day, Carlos hit rock bottom. Then after that, we had the Cincinnati incident.”

The four-time Major winner had little time to regroup after the emotional exit, heading to Cincinnati and losing to Gael Monfils in a match that carried over two days due to rain delays.

Alcaraz’s head was all over the place, and he smashed his racket into the ground multiple times during the third set before losing 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4.

“I lost it,” he said in his documentary. “The fact of the matter is that I wasn’t mentally strong enough to overcome all the stress.

“I didn’t really know what I needed. I didn’t know… if… if I needed to quit or if I was losing my passion. I knew that if I was gonna play like that and feel that way, it would be better to not play tennis at all.”

Alcaraz’s older brother Alvaro, who travels with him during most of the year, knew where the outburst came from.

“That day, he simply lost it. The way he lost it, you could see he was full of rage. He was also filled with anxiety, and he took it out on his racket by smashing it three or four times on the ground. He was feeling bad,” Alvaro explained.

Carlos Alcaraz was heartbroken after losing the gold-medal match at the Olympics (Image: Getty)

But things went from bad to worse for the world No. 3, who suffered a shock second-round defeat at the US Open, and wanted to step away again.

Alcaraz said: “After the US Open, I didn’t wanna touch a racket. I said, ‘I don’t want to play tennis for a week and a half, even two weeks’.”

The 21-year-old finally started to lift his spirits at the Laver Cup, making his debut at the team tournament and helping Europe claim the trophy. Afterwards, he beat Jannik Sinner to win the ATP 500 in Beijing.

But Alcaraz failed to get beyond the quarter-final at any tournament until February this year, when he won the Rotterdam Open.

And there have been more mixed emotions for the Spaniard in 2025. After a tough opening loss in Miami, he bounced back to win the Monte-Carlo Masters.