Carlos Alcaraz has been at the top of the ATP Tour in the 2026 season, already delivering exceptional performances and intense on-court drama. He is known for pushing physical limits, which leads to thrilling matches, but sometimes to frustration and heated exchanges.
A recent such incident has caught the attention of four-time Grand Slam Champion Kim Clijsters, who has come to the Spaniard’s support.
Kim Clijsters Supports Carlos Alcaraz Following the Umpire Clash in Doha
Alcaraz recently won the ATP 500 Qatar Open title in Doha, extending his dream start to the 2026 season. The Spaniard defeated Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-1 in a lightning-fast 50-minute championship match to lift his 26th career trophy. This victory brings his 2026 record to an unbeaten 12-0, after he completed his career Grand Slam in Melbourne earlier this month.
Apart from lifting the title, Alcaraz made headlines for one more reason. During his quarterfinal match against Karen Khachanov, he engaged in a heated exchange with chair umpire Marija Čičak regarding a time violation warning.
Former tennis star Clijsters supported him for voicing his frustrations. “I love that Alcaraz actually is saying that stuff because I think for him to do it, it must be really be frustrating or something, must be triggering and it comes from a place then where he’s actually very annoyed by it,” she said.
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The Belgian then talked about how she thinks the ATP might change the rules after so many incidents, adding, “So, I enjoyed that he spoke up and that maybe behind the scenes where he mentioned the ATP rules and, maybe they’ll change a little bit about the shot clock.”
“I agree like I think we saw something at the Australian Open with Novak in the semifinals in the fifth set where he got a time violation after a super long rally. And there’s times like that where I feel like as a referee you just have to be able or a chair umpire, you have to just read the room a little bit as well,” she added, mentioning an incident from the semifinal match between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, when the umpire gave the Serbiam legend a warning during one of the last few games.
Clijsters stressed that slight delays do not cause much of an impact on the match result. “Because for me as a tennis fan when I’m watching this you have to be able to give these players just their moment to just recover, whether it’s one or two seconds more its really not going to make a big deal.”
However, right after this incident, former tennis player Andrea Petkovic warned Alcaraz that he should not engage in such incidents with someone as strict as Čičak, saying, “You don’t want to get into an argument with her, she will destroy you mentally and emotionally.”
The incident in the quarterfinal occurred when the score was tied at 4-4 in the first set, and the Spaniard held an advantage. Alcaraz argued that the clock was not stopped properly when he went to grab his towel, but Čičak insisted she had stopped the timer. The World No. 1 openly questioned the decision, asking if he was no longer allowed to use his towel during longer volleys.
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Notably, this is not the first time Alcaraz has had an issue with the serve clock regulations; his frustration dates back to previous seasons. At the 2024 Queen’s Club Championships, he called out the rule, stating it is detrimental to players. He noted that he had no time left after finishing a point at the net to collect the balls for the next game.
Similarly, at the 2025 Japan Open final, Alcaraz argued with chair umpire Fergus Murphy over a similar warning, stating that the official lacked an understanding of playing tennis.