BARCELONA – The same setting, the same time of year, the same problem. Carlos Alcaraz has picked up an injury at the Barcelona tournament. The phrase applies to 2025, but also to 2026. A year ago it was his leg, now it’s his arm, but the consequence is the same: he has to stop just as Roland Garros is round the corner. His body is crying out for a break. It’s the price of the calendar, but also of being called Carlos Alcaraz and being Spanish.
“It’s strange and difficult to sit here for the second time and announce that I won’t be able to continue in the tournament. Yesterday during the match, after a return, I felt my wrist give way and the discomfort grew worse. It’s a situation I thought I’d experienced before and assumed wouldn’t get any worse. That it would just be discomfort from the strain. But given today’s tests, it’s a slightly more serious injury than expected,” Alcaraz said on Wednesday in the press room at the Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona.
The world number two made his debut on Tuesday with a victory over Finland’s Otto Virtanen, but cancelled his scheduled training session for Wednesday, a sign that something was amiss. At 5.30 pm, he burst into the press room wearing a white tracksuit top and cap to announce that he would be unable to play on Thursday against Czech player Tomas Machac.
“I have to listen to my body, do what’s best for me and ensure it doesn’t affect me in the future. Barcelona has always been a wonderful and very special tournament. I never like to withdraw from any tournament, let alone this one. It is with great sadness that I have to return home to begin my recovery as soon as possible so that I can try to be back as soon as possible,” added the seven-time Grand Slam champion.
The announcement of Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the Conde de Godó comes exactly 360 days after his last injury, which he sustained in the 2025 Barcelona final against Holger Rune. On that occasion, Alcaraz managed to finish the match, but days later he had to withdraw from the Madrid Masters 1000. The fact that his last two injuries have occurred in the same venue may seem like a coincidence, but there are objective facts that suggest this is a very difficult and demanding week for Alcaraz. Just as in 2025, Alcaraz reached the Monte Carlo final on Sunday, travelled to Barcelona on Monday and made his debut on Tuesday.
‘If this week were Munich or Estoril, he’d be resting’
“The fatigue builds up in the legs. Australia, Qatar, the US tour, the time zone changes, the mixed feelings in Miami, losing the final in Monte Carlo, travelling to Barcelona… And all that with such intensity, such pressure… changing hotels, flights – it’s only natural to be feeling the strain. ‘If it weren’t for Barcelona, I’d be resting this week,’ said former tennis player Álex Corretja on Tuesday during the broadcast of Alcaraz’s match on Movistar+. ‘If only Munich or Estoril were being played this week, Alcaraz would be resting’
Alcaraz himself has been candid in his recent reflections: Barcelona is not a stop that makes sense from a purely sporting perspective. It’s a matter of the heart. After the gruelling Monte Carlo, this week is, on paper, the ideal time for rest and preparation for the Madrid-Rome-Paris leg of the tour. But Alcaraz has an emotional commitment to the Spanish public and an institutional responsibility as a national figurehead.
“To compete at the level he does, Carlos has to make a huge effort. It’s normal for him to suffer injuries. The demands of the tour are immense and all players suffer them. He has to look after his fitness and try to pace himself to be at 100%, but at the same time do everything possible to keep fighting for the top spot. That’s what being a professional athlete entails,” said the former world number five Tommy Robredo, current director of the Barcelona tournament, to CLAY a few days ago.
Robredo’s words sum up the dilemma facing elite tennis players. Pacing oneself is not just a choice, but a tool for survival. Last year, Alcaraz’s insistence on pushing himself in the Catalan capital ultimately cost him his participation in Madrid.
On this occasion, the precautionary withdrawal seems to suggest that Alcaraz’s team has learnt the lesson of 2025: it is better to sacrifice a tournament, however much it may be on home soil, than to jeopardise the entire clay-court season. The statistic of 360 days without injury is a testament to the success of Alcaraz’s team’s preventative work, but the current setback is a reminder that the calendar has no regard for emotions.
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