Carlos Alcaraz fitness update: ‘Science-backed training’ key to Spaniard’s training
It has been a while since Carlos Alcaraz gave his fans an update on his wrist, but according to his latest social media post, he is back in training, although he is still not using his injured right hand.
Seven-time Grand Slam winner last set foot on a court for an official match on 14 April when he took on Otto Virtanen in the first round of the Barcelona Open. He won the match in straight sets, but picked up a wrist injury and was forced to withdraw from his second-round match.
Alcaraz and his team were initially hopeful that he would be fit to return later in the clay-court season, but he was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open, Italian Open and Roland Garros.
And the setbacks didn’t stop there as he has also pulled out of the Queen’s Club Championship and Wimbledon with his team earmarking a return for the North American hard-court season starting in August.
In a recent interview at the Princess of Girona Foundation’s awards ceremony in Spain, the 23-year-old saw glass as half full as he promised “something beautiful” when he returns.
“Everything happens for a reason. I believe it’s fate, and that life has something special for me when I return, something beautiful,” he said.
“Now I realise that what really matters, my family, who have always been there to support me; they never forced me to play tennis but always gave me the choice and that helped me continue to enjoy it and never feel stressed. They’re the reason I’m the person I’m today.”
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Alcaraz has shared very little information about his wrist, but in a post titled “A different kind of May!” shared on Instagram that ranges from images of birthday celebrations with his family to having fun on the beach, he also shared a video of a training session at the Carlos Alcaraz Academy in Murcia.
He is still wearing a cast on his wrist, but there is good news as the 23-year-old is seen doing tennis drills, but he only uses his non-dominant left hand to play shots while using his injured hand to mimic shots.
Puntodebreak.com says Alcaraz’s team have implemented the “science-backed cross education” as they explain that it “is a neuromuscular phenomenon where training one limb can help maintain or improve strength, coordination, or activation of the opposite limb, even if not directly trained. In this case: if Alcaraz’s right wrist is limited, working with the left hand may have a beneficial effect on the injured side.”
The Instagram post also has a video of Alcaraz playing a doubles match alongside his brother Alvaro and he also only uses his left hand to play shots.
But it is not only Alcaraz playing tennis with his non-dominant hand that is grabbing the attention, as he is also sporting a new hairstyle.
Instead of his usual shorter haircuts, his hair is quite long and even needs an elastic band to tie it at the top.
Alcaraz’s hair even earned a comment from the great Serena Williams, who announced her return to professional tennis on Tuesday, as she wrote: “I love the hair.”
