Carlos Alcaraz will miss the remainder of the clay-court season with a wrist injury.
The world number two won’t defend his Italian Open or French Open titles in 2026.
Alcaraz will be forced to watch from the sidelines as his rivals look to take advantage of his absence.
How worried are you about Carlos Alcaraz’s injury?
Carlos Alcaraz will miss Rome and Roland Garros…
Former Grand Slam champion and Alcaraz’s fellow Spaniard, Conchita Martinez, has a request for his fans as he recovers from injury.
Conchita Martinez calls out criticism of Carlos Alcaraz and tells fans to support him
Appearing as a guest on ‘Game Set Madrid‘, Martinez said the following.
“Look, I’m of the opinion that when there’s an injury, you have to take extra care of your body,” she said.
“He has the right people around him, we’ve already seen that, because I think he had an ankle injury, he recovered well, and continued on.
“I remember Rafa [Nadal], who also had to miss Roland Garros with that foot injury he had. I don’t remember how old he was, and he wasn’t the only one.
“You have to take care of your body, you have to listen to your body, you shouldn’t force it.
“He’s young and has a long career ahead of him.
“I encourage people to support the player and the team, because there is a lot of criticism, but the criticism is from the outside, and you don’t have even 10% of the information, not even 1%.
“So support him, and that’s it.”
Martinez is clearly tired of hearing fans and pundits criticise the seven-time Grand Slam champion.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Grand Slam titles
- 2022 US Open
- 2023 Wimbledon
- 2024 French Open
- 2024 Wimbledon
- 2025 French Open
- 2025 US Open
- 2026 Australian Open
Alcaraz has been scrutinised more than ever this year, following his split from long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Many have even suggested that Ferrero’s impact could become clearer now that he attempts to recover from what seems to be a serious injury.
Earlier this month, Greg Rusedski delivered his verdict on Ferrero’s importance.
“Look, everyone says that Sammy Lopez is doing a great job, which he is, but that extra little voice in your ear from Juan Carlos Ferrero might have made the difference here, but we will see,” he said.
It remains to be seen when and where Alcaraz will return to competition, but the hope is that he will be fit to compete on grass this summer.
What happened the last time Carlos Alcaraz missed a Grand Slam?
Since making his Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2021 Australian Open, Alcaraz has only missed one major tournament.
Sustaining an injury in pre-season training, Alcaraz withdrew from the 2023 Australian Open.
He was supposed to compete as the number-one seed, but instead it was his countryman, Rafael Nadal, who took that spot.
Unfortunately for Spanish tennis fans, Nadal wasn’t fully fit either, and exited the competition in the second round, losing to Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets.
The second seed, Casper Ruud, lost his second-round match, too, opening up the draw.
Realising a rare chance at Grand Slam glory was on the line, the following eight players advanced to the quarter-finals.
2026 Australian Open quarter-finalists
- [18] Karen Khachanov
- [29] Sebastian Korda
- [3] Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Jiri Lehecka
- [5] Andrey Rublev
- [4] Novak Djokovic
- Ben Shelton
- Tommy Paul
Novak Djokovic was the clear favourite to win the tournament, and outlined his title-winning credentials with a dominant 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, victory against Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.
Karen Khachanov, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tommy Paul joined Djokovic in the last four.
2026 Australian Open semi-finalists
- [18] Karen Khachanov
- [3] Stefanos Tsitsipas
- [4] Novak Djokovic
- Tommy Paul
Tsitsipas defeated Khachanov in the first semi-final, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, before Djokovic beat Paul, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, to set up a mouth-watering championship match down under.
Djokovic and Tsitsipas took to the court on Sunday, January 29, with both the Australian Open title and the world number-one ranking on the line.
The Serb won the first set 6-3, but his Greek opponent wasn’t prepared to go down without a fight.
Tsitsipas forced Djokovic into a tiebreaker in the second and third sets, but came up short in both, losing 3-6, 6-7 [4-7], 6-7 [5-7] in the Australian Open final.
In Alcaraz’s absence, Djokovic won another Grand Slam title.
Will he do the same at this year’s French Open?
Only time will tell.
The 2026 French Open begins on Sunday, May 24.