Carlos Alcaraz is leaving no stone unturned in his hunt for the AO 2026 title and a career Grand Slam.
And while certainly not a weakness, the Spaniard believes there are gains to be made with adjustments to his serve.
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Although the 22-year-old has consistently won more than 80 per cent of his service games since 2022, the six-time Grand Slam champion has at times struggled with precision and a lack of consistency in free points and technique.
“I think everyone has to make changes, small details,” he said. “For me the serve is something that I really want to be better every year, in every tournament. I’m just putting constant work in on the serve”.
While serving effectiveness can be difficult to measure, an obvious indication is the number of aces per match - essentially the ability to earn free points on serve.
In 2024, Alcaraz averaged 265 aces at an average of 4.14 per match, far below top performers like Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton who each hit around 10-12 aces per match. His rival, Jannik Sinner, averaged 7.4 aces per match.
That year in Cincinnati, Frenchman Gael Monfils beat Alcaraz in the round of 32, the Spaniard making only 55 per cent of first serves and having to save seven out of eight break points in the match.
The usually upbeat Alcaraz uncharacteristically smashed his racquet and called it the “worst match I’ve played in my career.”
The following year, he made subtle tweaks to his service technique, which resulted in almost 200 more aces – an average of 5.8 per match.
Then, at the 2025 US Open, he had the best serving performance of his career.
Throughout the tournament, Alcaraz won 84 per cent of his first-serve points and 63 per cent on his second, higher than any other player. He also hit the fastest serve, clocking a whopping 215km/h.
In the final against Sinner, he struck 10 aces and won more than 80 per cent of first serve points to dethrone his great rival, and this time, Alcaraz called it “the best tournament” he had ever played.
The statistics back it up: he dropped one set across the whole tournament and the three breaks of serve he suffered during the fortnight were the second lowest in Grand Slams since 1991.
Watching him at AO 2026 in open practice at Rod Laver Arena, Alcaraz has a more abbreviated service action than he did in 2024. Whereas previously he extended his arm fully to face the back fence, which slowed the action down, he now bends his wrist and elbow to allow his racquet to move more quickly into position.
This change has clearly helped increase his serve speed and accuracy, with fewer moving parts and a better kinetic energy chain.
While the Spaniard didn’t give a definitive answer either way, he did allude to the fact that he has made changes to his service action.
“To be honest, on the pre-season, we didn't make changes in the serve, but it doesn't mean that I didn't do.
“I would say, I just making changes all the time, every tournament, every day, without someone having to tell me. For example, I’m just changing the movement a little bit.
“Now with this movement on the serve, I just feel really, really comfortable, smooth, really calm and peaceful rhythm, which I think it helps me a lot to do a better serve.”
Apart from a noticeably more compact action, eagled-eyed fans have noticed that Alcaraz’s serve now bears a striking resemblance to that of Novak Djokovic.
But while he seemed flattered by the comparison, he insisted the result was pure coincidence heading into AO 2026.
“No. I didn't think about, or I wasn't thinking about making the same serve as Djokovic," he said. "But at the end, I can even see the similarities,” he said.
Alcaraz will begin his campaign against local qualifier, Adam Walton on Sunday night, where we will get a good first impression of his serve and whether it will be the key ingredient to completing the career Grand Slam here AO 2026.