World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has opened up about how sports psychology is shaping his game. He has credited his team psychologist, Isabel Balaguer, for helping him stay mentally strong, manage pressure, and perform at his best. However, the Spaniard also feels that it is better when a player requires the help of psychologists less frequently.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Honest Admission About His Relationship With His Psychologist
Balaguer, who is a sports psychologist from the University of Valencia, has been working with Alcaraz since 2020. Her guidance has helped him build mental strength over the years. The Spaniard has mentioned how much he needed her help to hold his nerves ahead of his 2023 Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic.
Even after his loss to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon 2025, Alcaraz mentioned how important her role was. He admitted that negative thoughts are normal but credited Balaguer for helping him manage them.
However, as Alcaraz’s mindset got stronger, his communication with Balaguer changed. In a recent interview, when asked about working with Balaguer, Alcaraz said he doesn’t talk to her directly as often as he used to. “I’m talking less and less with her. It’s a relationship where Juanqui and Samu talk to her a lot to give her instructions so that she can then pass them on to me on court,” he said.
Instead of needing regular one-on-one talks, Balaguer now mostly works through his coaches, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel López. “I talk to her when I feel the need to vent and speak with someone. Thank God, since Miami, I haven’t had that feeling of needing to vent because everything has gone really well. Both on and off the court, I’ve felt very good,” Alcaraz added.
Other Tennis Stars Who Work Closely With Psychologists
Other than Alcaraz, many top players now work with sports psychologists, including World No. 2 Iga Świątek, who has been associated with Daria Abramowicz since 2019. Their partnership has played a big role in Świątek’s success since then, helping her mentally and win six Grand Slam titles while spending 125 weeks as world No. 1.
“When I was suspended, I didn’t want to go out on the court at all for a few weeks. It was the most difficult experience of my career. Daria is a constant support for me, a person I trust,” Świątek said during an interview with SportoweFakty in May this year.
Swiatek had said earlier that having her psychologist travel with her makes a big difference because they were able to talk daily, build trust, and understand how she reacts in real situations and tough moments on court. She also pointed out that every player needs a different approach. Some are fine with a few sessions a month, but she personally prefers having her psychologist by her side during tournaments.
Jannik Sinner also turns to mental training when needed. Since 2020, he has been occasionally working with Riccardo Ceccarelli, who has worked with Formula 1 drivers for decades.
“It is a little bit different because you don’t talk one-to-one, but you do certain exercises on the computer and they calculate how much of your brain you used, and then they help you to make it as automatic as possible with using less time and less brain,” Sinner said.
Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, stopped working with her psychologist before she won her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
“I worked with a sports psychologist for four or five years,” she said about the partnership on the Jay Shetty podcast. “We did a lot of things at the beginning of my career, but then I found that I was relying on her so much. I was expecting her to fix my problems.”
“I was getting upset about that, so at some point I decided, ‘OK, I have to take responsibility over my actions.’ I stopped working with the psychologist, and that was the moment I started learning about myself.”
Apart from them, many other tennis stars like Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev, Barbora Krejcikova, and Elina Svitolina have traveled with sports psychologists or mental coaches as part of their team.
