The buzzcut is 1-0 in Slams. In case you somehow missed it, Carlos Alcaraz of the new, aerodynamic ‘do triumphed over Janik Sinner in four sets at the US Open final last weekend.
“Sincaraz” finals have a tendency to go on forever and ever. Sinner’s groundstrokes are legendary — he’s content to play powerful baseline rallies for as long as it takes. Alcaraz typically deploys otherworldly athleticism and improvisational skills to crawl out of holes and get the crowd on his side.
This final was an incredibly swift match by the duo’s standards, though, lasting just two hours and 42 minutes. Their meeting at the French Open this June was over twice as long, at five hours and 29 minutes. (Alcaraz won that one, too.) To prepare for this particular final, though, Alcaraz says he studied his loss to his Italian counterpart in the Wimbledon final last July. “We watched it,” he said. “We took note [of] everything, and we worked on it.”
Alcaraz also managed to stay healthy, which might have been the difference maker for Sinner, who hinted at a potential abdominal strain as early as his semifinal contest with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Like any other sport, professional tennis is a total crapshoot — you can do everything right and your body can still betray you. But do more of the right stuff, and you’ve got a fighting chance at going into the splits (and living to win the point). So: what is that “right stuff”?
Alcaraz’s Warm-Up Routine
For Alcaraz, it looks like this. He performs:
- Cross-body crunches
- Copenhagen plank variations
- Juggling
- Reaction drills
In another video online, Alcaraz pencils in wall sits, air pulses, single-leg pulses and “shadow tennis” — or, drills where his trainer gestures in different directions and Alcaraz must react accordingly.
For even more warm-up inspo, check out this routine ahead of an ATP fixture in 2024, where the Spaniard does all sorts of active mat work. It looks like extra fidgety yoga, basically. He cycles through cat cows, step throughs, thoracic openers, dynamic child’s pose.
The Art of Active Recovery: 7 Ways to Move on Your Day Off
This isn’t a workout — it’s how you stay ready for the next oneWhy This Works
Most of these moves are relatively gentle, but a few seem taxing — why is Alcaraz performing Copenhagen planks before his latest showdown with Sinner? Shouldn’t he be conserving every ounce of energy his body has?
Professional athletes (and their deep bench of sports medicine experts) understand that prepping the body for maximum effort is more valuable than keeping it in a glass box until game time. That’s why dynamic movements rooted out static stretching in the first place. But it’s also why more and more routines feature challenging, core-activating exercises.
Emma Coburn, a steeplechase world champion, helpfully shared her pre-run warm-up, which features banded walks, knee drives and single-leg hip bridges. Again: it’s not the hardest stuff, but it’s not nothing.
This sort of concentrated work jumpstarts a number of bodily processes, inducing bloodflow to key muscles and soft tissues and creating heat in areas that sorely need it (like the spine). It also activates muscle spindles, which are responsible for informing the central nervous system about changes in length of muscles. In other words: moving your body a little lets the brain know you’re about to move your body a lot.
One of the most respected studies on dynamic warm-ups actually assessed elite tennis players, and concluded that a “DS warmup…[led to] improvements in sprint, agility test, countermovement jump, and also to higher hip flexion range-of-motion.”
What Should You Do?
I’ll go out on a limb and say neither you nor I will ever win Wimbledon. (If you’re reading this as one of the world’s top-ranked tennis players, I’m surprised and flattered.)
Point being, you don’t have to copy Alcaraz, or Coburn or any elite athlete to a T. Just aim to do something before physical activity. Nail down a routine that works for your body, that’s commensurate to the effort you’re about to ask of it, and then stick to it.
Some ideas? Forward lunges, straight leg marches, side-lying spine rotations. If the sport is skill-based, consider some shadow or reaction drills, too. It’s always so tempting, when you’re on the cusp of a workout or competition, to just dive right in. But victories are earned (and injuries dodged) in those boring, everyday margins.
Meet your guide
More Like This
The Charge will help you move better, think clearer and stay in the game longer. Subscribe to our wellness newsletter today.
