How Carlos Alcaraz is off to the perfect start to his 2026 season | ATP Tour
beyond numbers
How Alcaraz is off to the perfect start to his 2026 season
Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analyzes the Spaniard’s serving success
February 25, 2026
Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz won 90.8% of his serve games in 2026.
Andrew Eikenholz
Carlos Alcaraz is on his way to success.
The Spaniard is already the number one player in the PIF ATP rankings and is off to the best start to the season of his career. Alcaraz has a perfect 12-0 record and has already lifted trophies at the Australian Open and Doha.
An analysis by Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers suggests that improved serving has underpinned the 22-year-old’s success, helping him break through to 2026.
That’s not to say Alcaraz has been bad on serve lately. Infosys ATP statistics show that he won 87.6% of his serve games on the ATP Tour last year, ranking sixth.
This year, the world No. 1 has just found a new level, making marginal improvements on serve across the board, winning 90.8% of his serves in 12 games, despite having a slightly below-average return success rate.
“I think everyone has to make changes, small details. For me, serving is something I really want to get better every year, every match,” Alcaraz said at the Australian Open. “I just kept working on my serve.”
Alcaraz’s serving statistics
| Service Statistics | Profession | 2026 |
| First move% | 65% | 68.3% |
| First serve scoring rate % | 72.2% | 74.3% |
| Second serve scoring rate | 56% | 59.4% |
| Aces per game | 4.3 | 6.1 |
| Serve to win | 84.6% | 90.8% |
Alcaraz didn’t make huge improvements in any of his serving statistics, but everything was a little better than where he was in 2025. The Spaniard has a higher first serve rate this season (64.2% to 68.3%), slightly more first serve points (74.1% to 74.3%) and second serve points (56.8% to 59.4%), and averages more aces per game (5.8 to 6.1).
It is worth noting that in 2025, Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner to reach the top of the PIF ATP rankings and won the ATP year-end No. 1 ranking issued by PIF for the second time. Last season was a great one for the Spaniard, but he continues to raise the bar.
What Alcaraz does particularly well on serve is guard his second serve. As of Monday, Alcaraz’s career second-serve winning percentage is 56 percent, ranking third all-time behind only Rafael Nadal (57.1 percent) and Roger Federer (56.8 percent). This year, his second-serve winning percentage is 59.4%, which is well above those numbers.
The world No. 1 isn’t knocking opponents off the court with his serve – he’s winning 74.3 percent of his first serves, ranking 45th among ATP Tour qualifiers this season. But Alcaraz has made incremental improvements to the sport, and he’s already at the top of it.
Alkaraz did not lose serve in three of his five matches at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha last week – the final against Arthur Lindeknech, Karen Khachanov and Arthur Fiers. In addition to losing his serve four times in the semifinals against Andrey Rublev, the Spaniard’s service win rate this season is as high as 92.6%.
Returning is where the 22-year-old has historically excelled, having finished in the top three on the ATP Tour in each of the past five seasons. Although he ranks second in that category so far this season, his 30.3 return win rate is actually lower than his career mark of 31%.
But despite this, the small improvement in his serve gave him a perfect start, and that’s what matters most.
