Carlos Alcaraz Passionately Argued With Chair Umpire After Receiving Time Warning

The seven-time major champion went on a not-safe-for-work tirade at the Qatar Open.

Carlos Alcaraz argued with the chair umpire after receiving a time violation warning. | The Tennis Letter/Screengrab

If Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t agree with a warning he’s given during a tennis match, he’ll let the chair umpire know.

During Thursday’s quarterfinal at the Qatar Open vs. Karen Khachanov, Alcaraz received a time violation warning following a long point. The chair umpire argued that she started the timeout, but then stopped it after 25 seconds while the Spaniard was celebrating. But, she had to start it again when Alcaraz decided to use his towel. Because of this additional time used, Alcaraz received a time violation warning before his next serve. Alcaraz claimed the time was stopped prematurely for him to use his towel after a long point vs. Khachanov—he didn’t think he got enough time.

Even though he was just given a warning and not an actual violation for this moment, the seven-time major champion still didn’t think he deserved any sort of warning because the time issue wasn’t his fault.

Here’s a breakdown of the conversation between Alcaraz and the umpire.

Alcaraz not happy about a time violation warning he received from the umpire during his match against Khachanov in Doha

“I stopped the time.”

Carlos: “No you didn’t.”

“I did. I stopped time at 25 seconds when it started. Then you got the towel. Then I started the clock again.”… pic.twitter.com/RKCCesRbXa

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 19, 2026

Cameras then caught a not-safe-for-work reaction from Alcaraz when he went to the bench after the game. The umpire was ready for the dispute to be over.

“I can’t invent more time,” the umpire said. Alcaraz responded passionately: “The ATP rules are always s---. They're s---.” The umpire then tried to stop Alcaraz’s tirade by saying “O.K. Well, I think we got the point.”

Khachanov also reportedly asked for Alcaraz’s warning to be canceled. The warning won’t impact Alcaraz as long as he doesn’t receive another one during the match. If he gets a second, he will get a point penalty, and any more violations that ensue afterwards would result in more serious consequences. Because of his cursing on the bench, there’s a chance Alcaraz will receive a fine from the ATP.

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