Carlos Alcaraz confirms double injury blow as he makes Madrid decision
Carlos Alcaraz will miss the 2025 Madrid Open due to injury and there are also major doubts over his participation in the Italian Open as he is struggling with two different injuries.
The Spaniard picked up an adductor muscle injury during his straight-set Barcelona Open final defeat to Holger Rune on Sunday.
Alcaraz revealed after the match that he first felt the tweak during the second set and he requested a medical timeout for treatment, but re-emerged to finish the encounter.
During the post-match press conference, he admitted that the past few weeks had taken its toll as he had played 10 matches in just over two weeks as his Barcelona performance was preceded by a title run at the Monte Carlo Masters.
The four-time Grand Slam winner underwent tests after the ATP 500 final and had high hopes of competing at this week’s ATP Masters event in the Spanish capital.
On Monday he stated: “Physically I feel good. I have undergone tests, and we will see what the results say. I am used to playing with discomfort; hopefully, I can enjoy Madrid.”
But he cancelled training on Wednesday and he confirmed his withdrawal from the Madrid Open during a press conference on Thursday.
Besides struggling with an adductor muscle problem, Alcaraz also revealed he has a hamstring injury.
“During the Barcelona final, I hurt the adductor muscle in my right leg, but I also felt something in the hamstring of my left leg,” he stated.
“We’ve tried everything to improve, but it hasn’t been possible. We’ve discussed with the team whether I could play safely, but we have to listen to our bodies.”
And while he is hopeful of playing at the Italian Open, which gets underway in early May, he admits it’s not a certainty as he would rather focus on being fully fit for the French Open.
“I expect to go back to court and start practising in a couple of weeks. Rome is still a possibility, but for sure I’ll be in Paris,” the world No 3 added.
“It’s not an easy decision because Madrid is the first tournament I have ever been to as a young kid, it’s the most special place for me to play.
“But (prioritising Roland Garros) was a big part of my decision to stop and recover properly.”
Alcaraz was the second seed at the Madrid Open and he was due to face either Zizou Bergs or Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round.
After winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, the two-time champion lost in the quarter-final against Andrey Rublev last year.
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He will drop 200 ranking points once he officially withdraws, meaning he will lose further ground to Alexander Zverev in the battle for second place in the ATP Rankings.
After returning to No 2 after his Monte Carlo title run, Alcaraz dropped back to No 3 on Monday after Zverev won the BMW Open in Munich.
Jannik Sinner remains comfortably clear at No 1 on 9,730 points in the Live Rankings while Zverev is on 7,995 and Alcaraz on 7,860 (before his withdrawal), but the German has the chance to earn more points with a deep run in Madrid this week.
