Carlos Alcaraz's US Open participation has been thrown into further doubt by an injury prevention specialist. The two-time champion at Flushing Meadows has been absent since April while he deals with a case of tenosynovitis in his right wrist.
Injury Expert's Warning
Four months have passed since Alcaraz withdrew midway through the Barcelona Open after complaining of pain in his forearm. He has since missed both the French Open and Wimbledon, with fears he'll also miss the US Open, which gets underway on Sunday.
Wrist tenosynovitis is a fairly common condition in tennis, which causes swelling of the tendon sheath on the inside of the wrist. And given how cautious Alcaraz has been in his comeback efforts, one expert is doubtful as to whether we'll see the 23-year-old feature in New York.
Stephen Smith, founder and CEO of Kitman Labs, an injury prevention and sports science company, recently told Tennis365: "I would be shocked to see him at the US Open."
US Open's Unique Challenges
Smith believes the US Open offers "the least protection of any Grand Slam" for a player coping with a bone or soft tissue injury. In his eyes, that's down to a myriad of factors, including climate, an unforgiving surface and the high potential for fatigue.
"I think the US Open compounds almost every welfare risk at once," he continued. "Extreme heat and humidity in New York, hardest surface in the game, best-of-five matches that can go four or five hours."
After being so cautious with his recovery in recent months, Alcaraz has fans hungering for his comeback. But it's that same tentative approach that has led Smith to suggest it would be a major surprise if Alcaraz suddenly decided to take this particular risk.
Recovery Progress
He added: "Given how patient they’ve been, I would be shocked to see him at the US Open. If you’re taking that patient approach and you’re progressively building, why throw somebody back in to the hardest thing they might do all year? Surely, you want that to be a progressive build."
Alcaraz has been spotted wearing different wrist supports at public events in recent months. He was first seen sporting a rigid brace soon after the tenosynovitis issue first came to light in April but has since taken to wearing a much smaller bracelet-style support.
He even took to the field in New Jersey last month to celebrate with Spain's players after they won the World Cup final. He was given the honour of presenting the trophy on-field at MetLife Stadium before La Roja went on to lift the title outright.
Alcaraz will hope to be back on the east coast in a more active capacity in the coming days. However, Smith's assessment of the situation suggests fans shouldn't get their hopes up that he'll make the final draw.
