Carlos Alcaraz facing alarming rankings slide as injury problem refuses to clear

Carlos Alcaraz confirmed he was withdrawing from the Barcelona Open with his ongoing arm injury and now he could be facing a rapid fall in the ATP Rankings.

The world No 3 pulled out of this week’s Monte-Carlo Masters with a right forearm problem and has not recovered in time to defend his title in his home country.

A statement from the tournament on social media read: “Carlos Alcaraz will not be able to defend the title he won the last two seasons.

“The player from Murcia has suffered from the injury sustained in Monte Carlo, and did not have a good feeling in his training on Sunday and, despite having tried until the last moment, he will not be in the Barcelona Open. Wishing you a speedy recovery, we hope to see you next year.”

The news that Alcaraz is out of the tournament on home soil was a hammer blow for the 20-year-old and it will have an instant impact on his ATP ranking.

After winning the Barcelona tournament last year, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final after progressing through the entire tournament without dropping a set.

That success earned him 500 ranking points and he will not be able to defend the tally now.

He also won the Madrid Masters tournament in May of last year, which earned him 1,000 ranking points and there must now be doubts over whether Alcaraz will be fit to defend the title in the Spanish capital, with that tournament getting underway in the last week of this month.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from another tournament as injury fears persist

Alcaraz also has 720 points on his ATP ranking from his run to the semi-finals of the French Open and if he was unable to play for the rest of the clay court season, there would be a danger that he might slip out of the top four in the rankings heading into the grass court season.

The Wimbledon champion revealed details on his injury when he pulled out of the Monte Carlo tournament, as he confirmed damage to his pronator teres was the problem.

That is one of the worst injuries a tennis player can sustain, as that muscle controls the flexing of the forearm, which is so important in this sport.

The pronator teres is a fusiform forearm muscle found in the superficial layer of the anterior compartment of the forearm.

Its primary function is to pronate the forearm and assist in forearm flexion. This muscle, therefore, has an essential involvement in sporting activities.

Non-surgical treatments are generally recommended for mild to moderate cases of Pronator Syndrome, but worryingly for Alcaraz, rest is at the top of recommended treatments.

Some medical experts suggests full recovery from this injury can take up to six months, especially if there is nerve damage around the injury.

Alcaraz was practising in Monte Carlo last week prior to his withdrawal from the tournament and observers suggested he was slicing all of his forehands rather than hitting through them with his trademark power.

Even if he did make it back on court to defend his title in Madrid or recover in time to play at the French Open, the danger of reoccurrence in an injury like this can be high, especially when you are using that muscle in the manner Alcaraz will do when he strikes a forehand.

If Alcaraz didn’t play in the clay court season, he may well head into the grass court season outside of the top four in the rankings, which could see him meet the world’s top two players in the quarter-finals of Grand Slam tournaments.