Carlos Alcaraz set for further tests on injury as Andy Roddick offers his views on ‘smart thing to do’

Shahida Jacobs
Carlos Alcaraz reacts at the 2024 Miami Open
Carlos Alcaraz reacts during his defeat to Grigor Dimitrov at the 2024 Miami Open

Carlos Alcaraz still hasn’t received the all-clear to return to action with the Spaniard set for further tests on the injury that ruled him out of the Monte Carlo Masters.

For the second year in a row, Alcaraz’s clay-court season got off on the wrong note as he was once again forced to miss the ATP Masters 1000 event due to injury.

The world no 3 had been struggling with a forearm problem over the past week and, despite his best efforts to shake off the injury, he announced his withdrawal from the tournament on Tuesday.

“I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play!” he wrote.

It is the second time in the space of a few months that Alcaraz has been troubled by his arm as he also withdrew from the Swiss Indoors in October last year.

Spanish media reports that the 20-year-old will undergo further tests on the injury in Alicante on Thursday and it will only be decided afterwards if he will compete at next week’s Barcelona Open.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz’s injury nightmare could have a huge impact on his ATP ranking

The ATP 500 tournament is a big event for Alcaraz as he is the defending champion and will defend 500 points.

There will be no let-up after that as the year’s second ATP Masters 1000 event on clay, the Madrid Open, gets underway on April 22.

Former world No 1 Andy Roddick, though, believes Alcaraz made the right decision to withdraw as he compared the situation to a Ferrari that is running out of gas.

“He’s been talking about his forearm for two or three days now,” the American told the Tennis Channel.

“This is the smart thing to do, especially when you have a Ferrari and the gas tank is empty, let’s take a play-off, let’s fill that back up and get ready for the rest of the clay court season.”

But there is good news as Alcaraz would not have attempted to play at the Monte Carlo event if he the injury was serious.

Roddick added: “There’s no chance that there’s something wrong structurally if he travelled to Monte Carlo and if he is trying to hit.”

Alcaraz has had several injury problems over the past year as he twisted his ankle during his opening match at the Rio Open and was forced to quit after just two games.

He also missed last year’s Monte Carlo event due to post-traumatic arthritis in his left hand and muscular discomfort in his spine while he withdrew from the 2023 Australian Open due to a hamstring problem.