Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs recently expressed her disappointment with Carlos Alcaraz’s inability to adapt to the fast indoor hardcourts employed at the Paris Masters. She also named Rafael Nadal as a prime example of a top player who knew how to change their tactics to win on unfavorable surfaces.

Alcaraz has struggled during the post-US Open swing — which generally employs fast hardcourts — since announcing himself at the head of the table in 2022. The young Spaniard succumbed to Ugo Humbert 1-6, 6-3, 5-7 in the third round of the 2024 Paris Masters.

Following his early exit from the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, Carlos Alcaraz expressed his disapproval of the indoor hardcourts in Paris-Bercy that had a “fast” Court Pace Index (CPI), thereby not allowing him to play in his usual rhythm.

When I play the first match, the stats came out that it is the fastest court in the Masters 1000, probably on the tour right now,” Carlos Alcaraz told the media in Paris-Bercy after his third-round loss. “This is crazy. I don’t know… I don’t know why they do it.”

Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs offered her two cents on the discourse surrounding faster surfaces at the tour level during her podcast. The Aussie former player-turned-coach implored the four-time Major winner to make adjustments if he wanted to make inroads on indoor hardcourts.

Stubbs then used Rafael Nadal to prove her point. The 22-time Major winner always had a game tailor-made for claycourts. But according to her, he deserved credit for tweaking his game a little to adapt and win two Wimbledon titles.

“If you have a fast court, you can come into the net because it’s harder to adjust your position to hit a winning passing shot when you’re getting rushed. So, fast courts indoors, sorry Carlos, you’re going to have to adjust your game,” Rennae Stubbs said on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast (35:12). “If not, you’re not gonna win indoors. It’s the same as Rafa.”

“Rafa had to adjust his style of tennis on grass back in the day when the grass was a little bit quicker. [when] it started slowing down, he started standing on the baseline, flattening out his forehand, flattening out his serve. Because he knew if ‘I wanna win Wimbledon, I have to play to the grass’ speed’. And he won Wimbledon! He was the type of player that adjusted his game to win on fast surfaces,” she added.

“The first thing Carlos Alcaraz said when he lost his match was, ‘The courts were so fast… yada yada'” – Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs

Rennae Stubbs further insisted that Carlos Alcaraz’s complaints about the courts in Paris-Bercy being too fast were misguided, as it was only just that pros who boasted of a more quick-strike playing style were given representation on the tour.

“And the first thing that Alcaraz said when he lost his match was, ‘The courts were so fast, I didn’t get here in time to practice. It was my fault, yada yada.’ It’s like, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Like, yeah, we have to have surfaces that reward players that play quick!” Stubbs said on her podcast (34:20). “That play serve and volley tennis, that come into the net. Yeah, f**k you guys! Like 89% of the tour is played on a slow hardcourt, or clay, or grass, which by the way, has been slowed down to the wazoo.”

Carlos Alcaraz is now in a race against time to prepare for the ATP Finals in Turin, which will also be played on indoor hardcourts. The 21-year-old might do better this time around, considering reports about him having begun practicing on similar courts to those employed at the year-end championships.