Carlos Alcaraz’s injury nightmare could have a huge impact on his ATP ranking
Carlos Alcaraz took the sensible decision to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters after his attempts to manage his arm injury ended in disappointment.
The news came as no surprise to those who watched Alcaraz’s practice sessions over the last couple of days, as he was clearly protecting his right arm and slicing balls rather than hitting his trademark forehands.
The 20-year-old Spaniard was clearly eager to do all he could to play in Monte Carlo and the Wednesday start he was given for his proposed first round match.
Tennis365 reported on the doubts around Alcaraz’s fitness on Monday, so the news that he had withdrawn from the tournament was not a surprise.
Yet the fact that he revealed the nature of his injury in a message on his social media channels adds to the concern over what might come next for the Wimbledon champion.
“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!. I was really looking forward to playing… See you next year!”
The injury Alcaraz described is a major concern for any tennis player as the pronator tere is the forearm muscle with the primary function to pronate the forearm and assist in forearm flexion.
That is crucial to everything a tennis player needs to do and is especially relevant to Alcaraz, who relies on his forehand to hit through opponents.
https://twitter.com/carlosalcaraz/status/1777692777301541217
Many medical experts have suggested the explosive nature of Alcaraz’s forehand could lead to injuries and his love of golf may also come under the spotlight, as that sport can lead to forearm injuries.
Alcaraz did not play in Monte Carlo last year as he was also cautious over his fitness, with that decision reaping huge dividends as he won tournaments in Barcelona and Madrid in April and early May.
READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from Monte Carlo Masters as he reveals injury issue
He collected 1,500 ranking points for those two triumphs and if he doesn’t play in Barcelona next week, those points will fall off his rankings total.
Missing the Madrid tournament would see another 1,000 points drop off Alcaraz’s total and that would put him in peril of losing the world No 3 ranking.
Alcaraz has moved up to No 2 in the live ATP rankings ahead of Jannik Sinner, who has points to defend from his run to the semi-finals in Monte Carlo last tear.
Yet Alcaraz will be worried about sliding in the other direction over the next few weeks, as he also has ranking to defend from playing in Rome last year.
He has 720 ranking points on his record from his run to last year’s French Open and the concern for Alcaraz will be that there is no solution to a pronator teres problem other than to rest it.
That will not be possible in a hectic period of the tennis year, where he would have been hoping to emerge as one of the big contenders for the French Open.
Alcaraz will also be concerned about the looming grass court season, where he has another 2,500 ranking points on his record from 2013 after wins at the Queen’s Club Championship and his stunning win against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.
That is all in the distance for now and the next big question Alcaraz needs to answer is whether he is fit to play in front of his Spanish fans in Barcelona next week and then once again at the Madrid Masters.
Such is the explosive nature of his forehand and the amount of power that flows through his arm when he goes for one of his knockout blows that this injury may be among the worst he could have.
