Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed that he will miss next month's French Open and the remainder of the clay-court season due to a wrist injury. The world number two suffered the injury during last week's Barcelona Open and subsequently withdrew from the tournament before his second-round match.
Alcaraz, aged 22, had already pulled out of the Madrid Open. The reigning 2024 and 2025 Roland Garros champion has now announced that he will also skip the Masters 1000 event in Rome and the French Open, following a series of medical tests. The Spaniard did not specify when he expects to return to competition.
In an emotional statement released on Friday, Alcaraz said: "After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros as we wait to evaluate the progress so we can decide when to return to the court. This is a difficult time for me, but I am sure we will come out of it stronger."
Alcaraz required a medical time-out at 5-4 in the first set of his opening-round match against Otto Virtanen in Barcelona last Tuesday. His wrist was heavily bandaged, but he managed to win 6-4, 6-2. However, he withdrew from the tournament the following day, admitting the injury was "more serious than expected."
Last Friday, the seven-time Grand Slam champion also announced his withdrawal from the Masters 1000 event in Madrid. Alcaraz said: "There are some pieces of news that are incredibly hard to share. Madrid is home, one of the most special places on my calendar, and that's why it hurts so much not to be able to play here for the second year in a row. It hurts especially not to be in front of my people, in a tournament that's so special. Thank you for the unwavering affection, and I hope we see each other soon."
Alcaraz has signed up for the ATP 500 event on the grass courts of the Queen's Club, where he is the reigning champion. The tournament begins on June 15, though the Spaniard has yet to confirm whether he will make his comeback for the grass season. Wimbledon then starts on June 29, where Alcaraz is a two-time former champion.
The wrist injury has proved a crushing setback for Alcaraz. He was thrilled to return to clay this season and had planned to compete in a full schedule including Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. Before the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he finished runner-up to Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz said: "This is probably one of the best times of the season for me. I miss clay every time the clay season is over. It's been a long time since Roland Garros that I haven't touched clay. In my first practices, I said to my team that it's time to get the socks dirty again. It feels amazing to be back on clay."
The world number two also scrawled "I missed clay" on the camera lens following his opening victory in Monaco. However, he has now had to miss the remainder of the clay season. Last year, Alcaraz triumphed in three of the four clay tournaments he competed in — the Monte Carlo Masters, the Italian Open, and the French Open — while finishing runner-up in Barcelona. He stands to drop 3,000 ranking points as a consequence of his absence from both Rome and Roland Garros.
