A Remarkable Return, But One Concern Lingers
Carlos Alcaraz has had one of the most impressive second halves of a season the ATP Tour has seen in years. After missing four and a half months with a wrist injury, he returned at the US Open and reached the quarterfinals before going on an extraordinary run. He helped Team Europe win the Laver Cup, claimed back-to-back ATP 500 titles at the Japan Open and the Vienna Open, and then topped it all off by lifting his first Paris Masters trophy, beating Ben Shelton, Casper Ruud, and Taylor Fritz along the way. Yet despite all that, former world number eight John Isner thinks there is still a significant area of Alcaraz's game that could hold him back.
Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, Isner pointed directly at the serve, saying it is "not a top-10 serve by any means" for a player of Alcaraz's overall caliber. He drew a compelling comparison to Novak Djokovic, noting that the Serbian legend overhauled his serve in the middle portion of his career and that the improvement helped him reach another level entirely.
What the Numbers Actually Say
Interestingly, Alcaraz's serving statistics for 2026 tell a more flattering story. He is landing 68 percent of first serves in, winning 73 percent of those points, and holding serve in a remarkable 88 percent of his service games. So while Isner's critique carries the weight of a serve specialist's expertise, the data suggests Alcaraz is hardly suffering on the scoreboard because of it. His wrist injury has likely reduced some of his serving power since his comeback, which may explain some of the visual concerns Isner raised. Alcaraz heads into the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals next before an exhibition in Brazil and then the Australian Open in late January 2027. TennisDraw users will be watching closely to see whether his serve holds up under pressure in those marquee events.
