Carlos Alcaraz has been forced to withdraw from the French Open due to the injury to his right wrist that he sustained last week in his first-round match at the Barcelona Open.
Alcaraz, a two-time French Open champion, had begun the clay-court season this month favoured to win his third successive title in Paris. After losing in the Monte Carlo Masters final to his great rival Jannik Sinner, who leapfrogged the Spaniard with his victory to reach No 1 in the rankings, the 22-year-old travelled to the Barcelona Open where he competed in his first-round match against Otto Virtanen two days later. The load on his body proved too much and he injured his wrist in the straight sets victory before withdrawing from the tournament a day later.
“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros as we wait to evaluate the progress so we can decide when to return to the court,” said Alcaraz in a statement on social media. “This is a difficult time for me, but I am sure we will come out of it stronger.”
Alcaraz made a brief appearance in Madrid on Monday to accept his world sportsman of the year award at the Laureus Awards. During his various interviews around the event, he said further medical tests on his wrist would determine the seriousness of the injury and whether he would be able to compete at the French Open. The results were evidently not positive. Despite his success at Roland Garros over the past few years, injuries have been a constant problem for Alcaraz during this period. A right forearm injury sidelined him for much of the 2024 clay-court season, then he was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open last year due to injuries in both legs.
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This latest setback represents one of the toughest moments of his career so far, a significant injury sustained in the busiest period of the calendar and at a time when he is playing some of his best tennis.
Alcaraz had started the season by pulling off another remarkable achievement, winning his seventh grand slam title at the Australian Open. His victory in Melbourne made him the youngest man to win the career grand slam.
An extended injury absence for arguably the most exciting player on the tour also represents a significant blow for men’s tennis, which has been dominated by the battles between Alcaraz and Sinner in recent years.
“I think what’s most important is to say that, first of all, tennis needs Carlos,” said Sinner. “Tennis is a much better sport when he’s around. For me personally it’s nice when he’s around. It makes me look also in the draw and see the matches in a different way, even though if I would face Carlos it would always be in the final.”
Alcaraz must now determine whether he will be healthy enough to return to competition for Wimbledon and the rest of the grass-court season, which begins immediately after the French Open. His desperation to return to competition must be paired with caution. Wrist injuries are particularly challenging in tennis, where the joint takes on such a great load with every stroke. Returning too soon could lead to long-term problems.
Sinner said: “I do believe he’s going to come back stronger than before. But injuries are always tough, especially a wrist. There’s certain areas of our body what are very sensitive. The wrist, we saw with also other players in the past, that they can complicate our life. So I hope he’s going to come back and he will not have any further injuries.”
In Madrid, the top seed Sinner, who had a bye in the first round, extended his winning streak to 18 matches after coming through a tough opening test against France’s Benjamin Bonzi, recovering from a set down to reach the third round with a 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4 victory. He now plays Denmark’s Elmer Møller, who benefited from Gabriel Diallo’s retirement.
Cameron Norrie is the only British player remaining in either singles draw after he held his nerve to reach the third round with a stellar 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5) win over Tomas Machac. Katie Boulter, meanwhile, was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by the fifth seed Jessica Pegula.