Australian Open
Alcaraz is already training in Melbourne: the start of a great challenge
The No. 1 trained this Sunday with Rafa Jódar
January 11, 2026
Rafa Jodar
Rafa Jódar and Carlos Alcaraz, this Sunday in Melbourne.
by this ATEDIDE ATP
This Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz has landed in Melbourne, Australia, with the energy and ambition of someone facing the first big goal of the year: the Australian Open, scheduled to begin on January 18. His arrival marks the close of an intense preseason and the beginning of a key week for the No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings to adjust his feelings on the surface of Melbourne Park before the tournament starts.
Despite landing early in the morning, Alcaraz lost time and left to train in the afternoon at the same venue where the Australian Open will be held.
This training has also had a special emotional and symbolic component: Alcaraz has shared the court with Rafa Jódar, who this week will compete in the qualifying phase of the first major of the year to try to sneak into the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Arriving in Melbourne and training at Rod Laver Arena is not a formality: it is a way to acclimatize to the specific conditions of the surface, the speed of the court and the atmosphere of the Grand Slam that opens the calendar. Alcaraz has structured his preseason since the end of December so that this week is progressive: first physical and technical work in Murcia and now direct contact with the slopes and the Australian climate.
In addition to this Sunday’s training with Jódar, Alcaraz plans to continue fine-tuning details with specific sessions this week, including work with other high-level players, such as on Monday with Felix Auger-Aliassime, to adjust the competitive rhythm before making the jump to the main draw.
The Australian Open represents several things at the same time for Alcaraz. It’s not just the first Grand Slam of the season; It is the opportunity to complete the big four, a milestone that would place him as the youngest ever to do so.
Furthermore, arriving in Melbourne fully prepared and with a structured plan and immediately training at the Rod Laver Arena, shows that Alcaraz leaves nothing to chance. He wants rhythm, sensations, real adaptations to the game and competitive continuity before facing a tournament that requires a lot of precision from the first round.
The arrival in Melbourne, the training with Jódar and the work plan for this week make up a start to the season that is no coincidence: it is the manifestation of an ambitious and well-structured objective. Alcaraz has placed his 2026 around the Australian Open, and from the first day on Australian soil he has shown that his focus is on competing, calibrating sensations and reaching the start of the tournament with rhythm, confidence and tactical clarity.
