Carlos Alcaraz’s nasal strip makes a comeback as Spaniard appears sick ahead of Rotterdam debut
Carlos Alcaraz Wears Nasal Strip Amid Illness Ahead of Rotterdam Debut
Carlos Alcaraz was spotted wearing a nasal strip during his latest practice session at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam, suggesting he may be dealing with an illness ahead of his tournament debut.
After a tough quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, the four-time Grand Slam champion is shifting focus to a new challenge—winning his first indoor hardcourt title. Instead of his usual South American clay-court schedule, Alcaraz has opted to compete at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam from February 3-9.
Arriving in the Netherlands on January 30, Alcaraz began practice the next day, training alongside Daniil Medvedev. However, the 21-year-old was seen coughing, sneezing, and blowing his nose throughout the session. Despite his apparent illness, he has continued training, and on February 1, he showed up for his scheduled hit with Alexei Popyrin wearing a black nasal strip, seemingly to ease his breathing.
This isn’t the first time Alcaraz has used a nasal strip. During the 2024 ATP Finals, he wore a fuchsia-colored strip to aid his breathing. After securing a lone victory against Andrey Rublev at the event, he addressed the issue in his post-match press conference:
“For me, it (the nasal strip) helped a lot today. I could breathe much better. I tried to forget that I’m not feeling well, that I’m sick, and deliver really good tennis.”
Tough Draw Awaits Alcaraz in Rotterdam
With defending champion Jannik Sinner withdrawing from the tournament, Alcaraz will enter Rotterdam as the top seed. However, he faces a challenging path right from the start.
His opening-round opponent is Dutch wildcard Botic van de Zandschulp, a player ranked outside the top 80 but known for pulling off big upsets. The last time they met, at the 2024 US Open, van de Zandschulp dominated Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in the second round. Reflecting on that loss, Alcaraz admitted:
“I don’t know what to say right now. I thought he was going to give me more free points. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes that I thought he was going to do. So it was confusing a bit.”
Adding to the intrigue, van de Zandschulp was also the last player Rafael Nadal faced before retiring from professional tennis. The Dutchman defeated the Spanish legend 6-4, 6-4 at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
As Alcaraz prepares to chase his first indoor title, all eyes will be on whether he can overcome both illness and a difficult draw to make a deep run in Rotterdam.
