Why Carlos Alcaraz’s latest social media post left so many to leap to gloomy conclusions
Boris Becker was among the esteemed voices offering up a gloomy verdict on Carlos Alcaraz’s possible comeback date after his team posted a social media video showing his progress in his attempt to recover from a serious wrist injury.
Alcaraz sustained the injury playing on clay courts at the Barcelona Open in April and didn’t waste any time pulling out of the French Open and Wimbledon.
While his team tried to play down the severity of the injury, his hastiness in pulling out of a Grand Slam in Paris, where he was the defending champion, and his early move to pull out of Wimbledon fuelled fears that the Spaniard would be out for a sustained period.
When he then released footage last week showing what appeared to be the latest stage of his comeback, fears were inevitably raised over his hopes of playing again in 2026.
The video taken at the Alcaraz Academy shows the reigning US Open champion gently hitting balls and not even striking balls as he went through his service motion.
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This appeared to be a player in the early stages of a comeback, with Becker suggesting the fallen World No 1 had a long way to go before he is ready to play competitive tennis again in a post on his social media account.
Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski joined Becker in suggesting Alcaraz would miss the US Open, but it seems the prognosis on the 23-year-old may be less bleak than initially suggested.
Reports in recent days claim Alcaraz has been given the green light to return to competitive action and his name has appeared on the entry list for next month’s ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati.
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Former US Open champion Andy Roddick gave his views on Alcaraz’s absence in the latest edition of his Served podcast, as he suggested the absence of his rivalry with Jannik Sinner is a big blow to men’s tennis.
“We miss Carlos Alcaraz. We want the foil. Hopefully he is better,” said Roddick. “There is a release where he has a hole in his racket, swinging through things and hitting lightly.
“When he goes out of Barcelona and finishes the match, I don’t know that I would have been saying he is not hitting balls yet by July.
“We hope for a speedy recovery. He means so much to this game. The Sinner story is just better with Alcaraz in the mix.
“Sinner still has to be an overwhelming favourite in New York even if Alcaraz comes back. Are the legs there?
“You need match reps. It’s not as if he re-enters the building and all of a sudden he is the best version of Carlos Alcaraz.”
READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz’s return date confirmed as his name appears on entry list
