Carlos Alcaraz voiced strong criticism of ATP time violation rules during his quarter-final match at the Qatar Open, earning support from former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters. The Spaniard clashed with the chair umpire over a 25-second shot clock enforcement. Despite the tension, Alcaraz secured a comeback victory.
During the opening set of his quarter-final against Karen Khachanov at the Qatar Open, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz received a time violation from chair umpire Marija Cicak. Alcaraz was not ready to serve when the 25 seconds on the shot clock elapsed, leading to a heated exchange midway through the set. He argued for more leeway from officials.
The match continued, with another discussion during the changeover. Alcaraz then turned to his bench and said, “The ATP rules are always s*, it’s s, s**.” Despite losing the first set 6-7 (3-7), the 23-year-old Spaniard rallied to win 6-4, 6-3.
In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz called the rule “absurd” and suggested officials should show more leniency. This rare display of visible frustration from the seven-time Grand Slam winner drew praise from Kim Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1.
On her podcast, Love All with Kim Clijsters, she stated, “I love that Carlos Alcaraz is actually saying that stuff because for him to do it, it must be really frustrating or something must be triggering.” Clijsters added, “It comes from a place where he’s actually very annoyed by it. So, I enjoyed that he spoke up and that maybe behind the scenes, where he mentioned the ATP rules, maybe they’ll change a little bit about the shot clock and I agree.”
She referenced a similar incident involving Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open semi-finals, where he received a time violation after a long rally in the fifth set. Clijsters emphasized flexibility, saying, “There’s time like that, where I feel as a referee or chair umpire, you just have to read the room little bit, because as a tennis fan, when I am watching this, you have to give these players their moment to recover, whether it’s one or two seconds more, it really is not going to make a big deal.”