Alcaraz Criticizes 25-Second Count and Condemns Referees for Strictly Adhering to Rules, Rybakina Responds to Mixed Doubles "Unwanted Touch" Incident

Carlos Alcaraz swiftly surged into the spotlight after advancing to the 32nd round at the Indian Wells Masters.

The Spaniard's trending status wasn't due to his textbook-perfect performance sweeping past Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov, nor his quick 67-minute finish, nor even his 13 consecutive wins at the start of the 2026 season—it was all about the 25-second count issue.

After swiftly defeating the Bulgarian star with scores of 6-2 and 6-3, Alcaraz attended a post-match press conference. When asked about his views on the 25-second count, no one expected the Spaniard to instantly turn into a powder keg and explode.

“Honestly, I don’t want to waste time. I’ve complained countless times before, but nothing changed. We can see referees vary drastically: some are flexible, others rigidly stick to the timer. It’s just one or two referees causing trouble in countless matches. Those who truly understand tennis know how to manage the pace; those overly strict referees who lack empathy simply don’t understand tennis.” As Alcaraz spoke these words, they immediately shocked everyone, directly unleashing a harsh condemnation of some referees' enforcement of the 25-second count.

Actually, Alcaraz's intense reaction to this issue is both surprising and unsurprising.

The surprise lies in how emotionally charged the Spaniard became when addressing this issue, directly criticizing referees with sharp words; the lack of surprise stems from Alcaraz's frequent conflicts with referees over the 25-second count, making such a reaction seem reasonable.

At last year's Tokyo 500 tournament, during his match against Fritz, right after the fifth game of the first set, Alcaraz engaged in a heated argument with the referee, causing the situation to momentarily spiral out of control.

The argument stemmed from Alcaraz being penalized for exceeding the serve time limit. What particularly angered the Spaniard was that he and Fritz had just played a long rally, exhausting him significantly; wanting to catch a breath but then being penalized for a time violation ignited his temper.

“You’ve never played tennis in your life, come on. You’ve never played tennis.” Alcaraz angrily told the referee at that time, explaining he didn’t intentionally violate the 25-second rule—he was simply exhausted after that point and wanted to briefly recover while fetching the ball.

Besides last year's Tokyo incident, Alcaraz encountered a similar situation this year at the Doha 500 tournament.

During the quarterfinal against Russian powerhouse Karen Khachanov, after arduously saving a break point, Alcaraz was warned for a time violation as he approached the towel before serving. They quickly argued again, with intensity matching last year's Tokyo incident.

This time, Alcaraz's frustration arose because he wanted to wipe sweat with the towel before serving but was warned for exceeding the time limit. Feeling extremely displeased, he snapped at the referee, “Alright, then I can’t go get the towel,” expressing his strong discontent.

Alcaraz's criticism of referees over the 25-second count at Indian Wells wasn't about venting grievances or publicly expressing anger due to past unpleasant incidents. He believes the 25-second count, intended to prevent match delays and enhance viewing experience, shouldn't be rigidly enforced by some referees—especially after long rallies when players are exhausted. Enforcement should be more flexible, not strictly adhering to the 25-second rule without any humanity. Otherwise, it gives an impression of “not understanding tennis,” treating trivial matters as commands,最容易引发球员的不满和愤慨，从而产生冲突。

While外界 praises Alcaraz for his candid nature, speaking openly without hiding and daring to say “no” to unfair phenomena, the关注ed Rybakina “unwanted touch incident” also has最新消息.

As the champion of this year's Indian Wells mixed doubles抢十表演赛, Rybakina and Fritz were captured by cameras during the award ceremony showing a male guest beside the Kazakh beauty placing his hand on Rybakina's臀部, which she then slapped away with her hand.

After the video of the Kazakh beauty encountering the “unwanted touch incident” was disclosed, it rapidly sparked significant反响. While many sympathized with Rybakina, pressure was also placed on the WTA and the male guest involved, demanding an explanation,同时 wanting to hear Rybakina's perspective on the matter.

After defeating Baptiste at Indian Wells, Rybakina was asked about this incident during a post-match interview. The Kazakh beauty finally broke her silence and responded.

“It might just look like that, but nothing happened.” Rybakina didn’t回避 this issue,坦然地回应时强调 the truth is completely different from外界's imagination—it's entirely due to the video's angle, nothing more. One sentence告诉所有人 the “unwanted touch incident” doesn’t exist, everyone can disperse!（来源：网球之家 作者：月亮河的星空）