World No 1 Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit in Miami this year, with the seven-time Grand Slam champion beaten 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the third round by 32nd seed Sebastian Korda.
It was Alcaraz’s earliest defeat of the 2026 season to date, and the Spaniard seemed far from content during the match, with the 22-year-old seen venting his frustrations towards his team during the contest.
Towards the start of the second set, the Spaniard was overheard saying: “I can’t take it anymore, I want to go home now, man. I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it anymore.”
Coach Samuel Lopez has known Alcaraz for several years and officially joined the world No 1’s entourage ahead of the start of 2025, before becoming the Spaniard’s sole head coach after the departure of Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Lopez seemed to be the partial focus of Alcaraz’s Miami outburst, and the coach has now addressed the incident in a new interview.
Speaking to Eurosport Spain, Lopez claimed that Alcaraz needed to learn to “control those impulses” and not potentially give his opponents any glimmer of hope.
He said (translated from Spanish): “Let’s see, I don’t think it should be normalised in the sense of just leaving it as it is.
“But I also don’t see it as anything surprising. He’s 22, and you have to make him understand that these kinds of comments have a lot of impact, especially outside the team. Internally, we knew how we arrived in Miami and what the situation was.
“He has to try to control those impulses that he has: he has always had them, and less and less each time. He has to control them, especially for the opponent, both the player and the opposing team, not to show those weaknesses in certain moments.
“But beyond that, it’s a way of expressing himself and releasing some of the tension and fatigue that builds up. There’s no need to give it more importance.”
After failing to triumph in either Indian Wells or Miami during the Sunshine Swing, Alcaraz will look to bounce back across the clay-court swing.
The Spaniard’s clay season will start at the Monte Carlo Masters next week, where he is the defending champion, and with his world No 1 status under threat from Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz is then set to compete at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open, before returning to the Masters 1000 events in Madrid — which he was forced to withdraw from in 2025 – and in Rome, where he is also the reigning champion.
His clay season will culminate in the French Open, with the 22-year-old heading into the second Grand Slam of the year as the two-time reigning champion.
