Alcaraz's ultimate nullifier: Inside the Spaniard's first-serve return success
Carlos Alcaraz possesses the ultimate nullifier in his arsenal.
The ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF is a dynamic all-around player who puts on a show with his shotmaking. But his secret weapon is his first-serve return.
According to an Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis, Alcaraz has led the Tour in first-serve return points won in three consecutive seasons. In 2025, the Spaniard won 35 per cent of those points, with only Jannik Sinner (33.6%) and Francisco Cerundolo (33.4%) winning more than 33 per cent.
First-Serve Return Points Won (2025)
| Player | First-Serve Return Pts Won |
| 1) Carlos Alcaraz | 35% |
| 2) Jannik Sinner | 33.6% |
| 3) Francisco Cerundolo | 33.4% |
| 4) Damir Dzumhur | 32.8% |
| 5) Daniil Medvedev | 32.7% |
The first serve is a key weapon on the ATP Tour, with many players putting foes on the back foot immediately and earning plenty of free points. Even the Spaniard wins just more than one out of every three first-serve return points. That is why his edge over his rivals in the category is even more important.
The 22-year-old’s 35 per cent win rate against first serves in 2025 was at least 10 per cent better than seven of the other nine players who finished in the year-end Top 10.
2025 Year-End Top 10: First-Serve Return Points Won
| Player | First-Serve Return Pts Won | Stat Rank |
| Carlos Alcaraz (No. 1) | 35% | 1 |
| Jannik Sinner (No. 2) | 33.6% | 2 |
| Alex de Minaur (No. 7) | 32.2% | 7 |
| Novak Djokovic (No. 4) | 31.7% | 8 |
| Jack Draper (No. 10) | 31.2% | 9* |
| Lorenzo Musetti (No. 3) | 30.4% | 13 |
| Alexander Zverev (No. 8) | 30% | 14 |
| Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 5) | 29.2% | 19 |
| Taylor Fritz (No. 6) | 26.3% | 39 |
| Ben Shelton (No. 9) | 26.2% | 41 |
*Draper is not listed on the leaderboard due to not meeting the minimum number of matches played, but would have slotted in at ninth.
Alcaraz’s first-serve return winning percentage was 33.9 per cent better than World No. 9 Ben Shelton’s (26.2%) and 33.2 per cent better than World No. 6 Taylor Fritz’s (26.3%).
This was not a one-year success story, either. Alcaraz has dominated the category for years. Dating back to his first season on the ATP Tour in 2021, the 24-time tour-level titlist has never finished outside of the top five on Tour.
Over the past three years, nobody has been close to Alcaraz. His 35 per cent win rate against first serves since 2023 is more than six per cent better than Alex de Minaur, who ranks second on Tour during the same period (32.9%). Daniil Medvedev (32.9%) is right behind De Minaur.
First-Serve Return Points Won (2023-2025)
| Player | First-Serve Return Pts Won |
| 1) Carlos Alcaraz | 35% |
| 2) Alex de Minaur | 32.9% |
| 3) Daniil Medvedev | 32.9% |
| 4) Jannik Sinner | 32.6% |
| 5) Francisco Cerundolo | 32.6% |
Alcaraz tallied a 71-9 record in 2025 according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. But there was a trend in his losses: below-average first-serve return performance.
The Tour leader in titles (8) and match wins (71) lost just nine times, and in seven of those defeats he won 31 per cent of his first-serve return points or less. In five of those matches, he claimed at most 27 per cent of his first-serve return points.
The only outliers were in the Australian Open quarter-finals against Novak Djokovic and the BNP Paribas Open semi-finals against Jack Draper. Alcaraz won 36 per cent of points against his opponents’ first serve in those clashes.
On the whole, Alcaraz does a better job than anyone else of neutralising his opponents’ first-serve effectiveness. That was one of the reasons why he was able to finish year-end No. 1 for the second time and will be something the Spaniard will rely on moving into 2026 and beyond.
First-Serve Return Points Won (Career)
| Player | First-Serve Return Pts Won |
| 1) Guillermo Coria | 36% |
| 2) Carlos Alcaraz | 34.4% |
| 3) Magnus Gustafsson | 34.2% |
| 4) Rafael Nadal | 34.2% |
| 5) Jordi Arrese | 33.9% |