Carlos Alcaraz makes concerning injury admission ahead of French Open
Carlos Alcaraz has vowed that he won’t take any risks with his injury as he does not want to cause further damage to his wrist and potentially face an even longer layoff.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner will miss this week’s Madrid Open as he picked up the injury during his first-round win at the Barcelona Open last week and was forced to withdraw from the tournament ahead of his second-round match.
His team were hopeful that he would feature at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the Spanish capital, but scans have indicated that the injury is more serious than they initially thought and he was advised to skip the tournament.
The Italian Open will take place immediately after the Madrid event and it appears Alcaraz – who is the defending champion in Rome – has accepted he won’t feature with the French Open likely to be his main target.
Alcaraz was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year on Monday following his incredible 2025 season during which he won the French Open and US Open, and returned to No 1 in the ATP Rankings.
During the press conference, he gave an update on his injury, saying: “In professional sport, there are always little bumps in the road, but it’s our duty to come back even better and stronger. We’ll try to look after ourselves as best we can now so we can return as soon as possible.
“The test I’m facing is just another one of the tests I’ve already had. I had a test, but it was a close call, so we decided to give it some time before having a second test. It’s not a different test, just another one to see how the area is doing after a week’s rest.
“Percentages? I don’t know, I can’t say anything right now.”
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But the world No 2 has made it clear that he won’t take risks by playing at Roland Garros while not fully fit, even if he is the defending champion.
Last year, he successfully defended his French Open crown as he saved three match points en route to beating Jannik Sinner in the final.
“As I’ve said, we have a very long career ahead of us, many years of good tennis,” he said. “Pushing myself at this Roland Garros could really harm me for future tournaments, so we’ll see how the test goes; that’s what we’re focusing on.
“I’d rather come back a little later and come back fit, than come back a little sooner and come back injured. You have to look after yourself because a tennis player’s career can be very long.”
