Carlos Alcaraz made to wait for more than an hour for bags at Rotterdam airport; given Dutch gifts as compensation

Carlos Alcaraz arrived at Rotterdam airport and faced a long wait for his bags before meeting tournament ambassador Jan Kooijman, who offered him Dutch gifts as compensation. The Spaniard will be the top seed at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam.

On Friday, the ABN AMRO Open's official Instagram account shared a Reel showcasing Alcaraz's airport ordeal. In the video, Kooijman revealed that Alcaraz waited for nearly an hour and a half for his bags.

To make up for the delay, the actor-director gifted the Spaniard flowers, the Dutch delicacy stroopwafels, and a Clog keychain.

Carlos Alcaraz reached the Netherlands for his debut at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam after a week of training at the Ferrero Tennis Academy in Villena. Although reportedly battling a cold, similar to his condition at the ATP Finals in November, Alcaraz is ready to compete in the indoor tournament.

The 21-year-old has not been accompanied by his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who remains in Villena. Alcaraz will acclimatize to the court conditions before beginning his matches on Tuesday or Wednesday, following the draw on Saturday, February 1.

---

Carlos Alcaraz will hope to make an impact on indoor courts at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam

Carlos Alcaraz at the Nitto ATP Finals 2024 - Source: Getty

Four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz has yet to reach a championship match on indoor court events. Despite holding a solid 25-12 record on indoor courts, Alcaraz believes mastering these conditions is just a matter of time. Reflecting on his indoor game, he shared his confidence at the 2024 ATP Finals (via ATP Tour):

"I'll be a really good player on indoor courts, I'm sure about it... But I think it's about time, about getting experience, getting matches in my back, hitting on indoor courts. I don't feel that I'm a bad player indoors, but probably I'm going to say [right now] a lot of players are better than me on indoor courts."

Alcaraz kicked off his 2025 season at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where he showed impressive form, reaching the quarterfinals with ease. In the last eight at Rod Laver Arena, he faced 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic but was unable to overcome the record-breaking Australian Open titleholder.

In Rotterdam, Alcaraz is the top seed after defending champion and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew following his Australian Open victory. Other top contenders for the title include Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and last year’s runner-up Alex de Minaur.