Carlos Alcaraz calls for drastic tennis rule change ahead of Wimbledon as reigning champion hit with penalty
Carlos Alcaraz has ‘called for a drastic rule change’ ahead of Wimbledon after receiving a warning at Queen's.
Alcaraz, 22, is the reigning Wimbledon champion, having beaten Novak Djokovic in the 2024 final at the All England Club.
The 2025 edition of the tournament is set to get underway on June 30 and will run until July 13, with the likes of Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz among the favourites to win the men’s singles crown.
But first, Alcaraz will look to secure victory at Queen’s, which is an ATP 500 event hosted in London.
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On Friday (June 20), Alcaraz booked his spot in today’s semi-final against Roberto Bautista Agut with a 7-5, 6-4 victory against Arthur Rinderknech in their quarter-final clash.
But the match was not without controversy.
During the match, the 22-year-old was handed a warning from the umpire for taking too long between points.
According to ATP rules, “A Time or Code Violation must be assessed if the ball is not struck for the next point within the twenty-five (25) seconds allowed, except if the Chair Umpire extends the time for special circumstances defined by ATP. There is no time warning prior to the expiration of the twenty-five (25) seconds”.
And after the match, Alcaraz did not hold with his comments about the warning, citing the “extreme heat” as part of the extended time taken between points.
“It was a really long match,” he explained when he spoke to the Tennis Channel.
“The conditions were extreme with the heat. It was really, really hot out there, and yeah, really long rallies, long games. I felt like I had no time to recover between points. I was in a rush all the time.
“So it was kind of I can’t approach the next point in an appropriate way. I mean, that talk with the umpire, it wasn’t because of that I didn’t lose the focus, but it was a problem all the time with all the clock.
“Jaume [Munar] talked to the umpire with the same thing. They have to change that. But yeah, I mean, they have to know where to put the clock, you know, right after the point or wait a little bit.
“Because after long points, long rallies, I finish the point at the net, I should have a little bit more time just to approach the next point in a proper way. That’s what I felt today.”
Where to buy last-minute Wimbledon tickets
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Luke Davies