Carlos Alcaraz taking a mini break from tennis after Asian swing disappointment: Reports

Carlos Alcaraz has reportedly decided to take a short break from tennis following his disappointing performances in the Asian leg.

After making a semifinal exit at the US Open following defeat to Daniil Medvedev, Alcaraz took part in the China Open. He beat the likes of Yannick Hanfmann, Lorenzo Musetti, and Casper Ruud in straight sets before losing 7-6(4), 6-1 to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

The Spaniard then took part in the Shanghai Masters, where he did not fare as well as he did in Beijing. After getting a bye in the first round, he defeated Gregoire Barrere and Dan Evans before losing 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to Grigor Dimitrov in the Round of 16.

According to a report by Spanish publication MARCA, Alcaraz has decided to take a week's break from all tennis activity before returning to training at the Ferrero Tennis Academy on Thursday, October 19.

The report also states that the Swiss Indoors in Basel, the Paris Masters, and the ATP Finals are the three events left on the World No. 2's schedule, at the moment.

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Novak Djokovic remains ahead of Carlos Alcaraz for the year-ending World No. 1 ranking

Novak Djokovic is currently ranked World No. 1.

On the ATP tour, Novak Djokovic holds the record for year-ending World No. 1 rankings, with seven No. 1 rankings. He most recently achieved it in 2021.

On the other hand, Carlos Alcaraz became the World No. 1 for the first time when he won the US Open last year. He kept hold of his top spot in the rankings all year, becoming the youngest player in history to finish the year as the World No. 1.

This year, Alcaraz is chasing Djokovic for the year-ending No. 1 rank. He had a chance to regain the top spot at the Shanghai Masters by reaching the final. However, an early exit sees him behind the Serbian by 500 points currently.

After exiting Shanghai in the Round of 16, Alcaraz admitted that it has become tougher for him to finish the year as the No. 1.

"With this loss, I'm a little bit farther and it's going to be tougher if I want to be No. 1. I have a few tournaments ahead, so I will try to do my best. I will try to win them if I want to have a chance to end the year as No. 1. I don't know, but right now I lost a lot of opportunities to make it," he said.

Alcaraz is next scheduled to take part in the Swiss Indoors in Basel, where he could win the title and earn 500 points to go level with Djokovic.