"Roger Federer was like Carlos Alcaraz, little over the top"- Serena Williams' ex-coach advises Spaniard to look to $550M-worth legend for key change

Rennae Stubbs, the former coach of Serena Williams, recommended that Carlos Alcaraz look to Roger Federer to improve his serve and make his game more lethal. Stubbs opined that Alcaraz's height will hinder his progress if he doesn't change his serve.

Alcaraz has made significant strides in his relatively nascent career. He has already won four Grand Slam titles, completed the Channel Slam in 2024, a feat rarely achieved in tennis, and risen to the World No. 1 in the ATP Ranking. However, several faultlines have emerged in the Spaniard's game, making him more vulnerable.

According to former WTA doubles World No. 1 Rennae Stubbs, one of those weaknesses is Alcaraz's height. The Spaniard is 6'0" tall, making him shorter than his top rivals Jannik Sinner (6'3"), Alexander Zverev (6'6"), Taylor Fritz (6'5"), Daniil Medvedev (6'6") and Novak Djokovic (6'2"). To combat this deficit, Stubbs suggested that Alcaraz flatten out his serve a bit more like Roger Federer.

Federer is 6'1" tall and made good use of the corners to make his serve unplayable and more challenging to return. Moreover, Stubbs wants Alcaraz to achieve more accuracy with his serves to get more "free points."

"(Alcaraz) is not a big guy. He is like my height, he's like 5'10, 5'11. He needs to develop a little bit of a flatter surf, and I think he needs to develop his surf better, and he needs to hit his spots better, right? I mean, Roger wasn't a big guy. But he could hit the corners like nobody else. And I think Carlos needs to get his accuracy with his serving better. And if he doesn't hit the corners better, he's not getting free points," Stubbs said on the latest episode of the Rennae Stubbs Podcast.

The American coach went on to compare Roger Federer's and Carlos Alcaraz's styles, saying the Swiss was much flashier and tried to hit outrageous shots during his younger days. However, he adjusted his game to hit forehand winners and crosscourt shots.

"Roger was a little bit like (Carlos Alcaraz) as well, like a little flashy, a little bit over the top, you know, and then he's like, I wanna win these matches, so I probably should just hit that forehand in and crosscourt," Stubbs added.

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Carlos Alcaraz eyes Career Grand Slam at Australian Open 2025

Carlos Alcaraz (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz could become the youngest player to complete a Career Grand Slam, i.e. win all four Grand Slam titles, if he wins the 2025 Australian Open. The Spaniard has not signed up to play any lead-up tournaments to the 2025 Australian Open and will be seeded third in Melbourne behind top seed Jannik Sinner and second seed Alexander Zverev.

The 21-year-old won his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open in 2022 after beating Casper Ruud in the final. His second Major title came at the Wimbledon Championships in 2023 after he ended Novak Djokovic's 34-match winning streak in London. In 2024, Alcaraz added two more Grand Slams, defending his crown at Wimbledon and lifting his maiden Roland Garros.

At the Australian Open, Alcaraz has not made it past the quarterfinal stage, which he reached in 2024. The Spaniard bettered Richard Gasquet, Lorenzo Sonego, Shang Juncheng, and Miomir Kecmanovic before losing to Alexander Zverev.