MADRID – Withdrawing from the Madrid Masters 1000 is a cause for concern for Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard will miss his second consecutive tournament due to a wrist injury, will fall further behind Jannik Sinner in the race for the world number one spot and, above all, will see his preparations for his next major goal compromised: defending his Roland Garros title in early June. There are reasons for alarm, yes, but also grounds for maintaining a degree of calm.
“There is news that is very difficult to share. Madrid is home, one of the most special places on the calendar for me, and that is why it hurts so much not to be able to play here for the second year running. It hurts me particularly not to be able to be in front of my fans, at a tournament that is so special. “Thank you for your continued support and I hope to see you soon,” wrote Carlos Alcaraz on Friday on his social media. Almost the same words he used on Wednesday in Barcelonato announce that the wrist injury he suffered on Tuesday during his debut at the Conde de Godó was more serious than anyone could have imagined.
Without defending the points from his 2025 Barcelona final – when he injured his thigh – and without competing in Madrid, regaining the number one ranking he lost a few days ago in the Monte Carlo final against Jannik Sinner is a goal that is slipping further and further away. Furthermore, in the coming weeks he will be defending the 3,000 points from his titles at Rome and Roland Garros. The rankings, however, are not something that overly concerns the Spanish player because, moreover, the number two spot is not in danger and, for the purposes of the draw, it amounts to the same thing. What currently tops his list of priorities is his body.
After almost a year free of injuries – the last one was a thigh injury in Barcelona 2025 – Alcaraz has once again found his physical condition to be his adversary. This is hardly surprising in a sport as demanding as tennis, where every week several players withdraw due to injuries of all kinds. The former protégé of Juan Carlos Ferrero has given few details about the wrist injury: all that is known is that it occurred whilst returning a serve from Finland’s Otto Virtanen in his Barcelona debut and that, although it did not appear serious, tests carried out on Wednesday confirmed a more serious problem than expected. Furthermore, it is his right wrist and he is right-handed, a factor that complicates matters even further.
Instead of travelling from Barcelona to Madrid, Alcaraz headed home to Murcia to begin his recovery. He will place himself in the hands of his fitness coaches and physiotherapists with a clear goal in mind: to arrive in Paris in good health at the end of May to attempt to defend his Roland Garros title with confidence.
Alcaraz’s roadmap for the coming weeks is based on a clear premise: rest is now the best form of training.
His recent track record shows that the El Palmar native knows how to manage these breaks. In 2024, Alcaraz withdrew from Monte Carlo and Barcelona due to a forearm injury, made his comeback in Madrid, where he lost in the quarter-finals, and then missed Rome before lifting his first Roland Garros title. In 2025, a similar story unfolded: he won Monte Carlo, suffered a thigh injury in the Barcelona final, withdrew from Madrid, conquered Rome and celebrated his title in Paris with that memorable final against Sinner.
Paris looms on the horizon – there are more than five weeks to go before Roland Garros begins – and Alcaraz’s current situation remains a question mark. The coming days in Murcia, resting and surrounded by his loved ones, will be crucial in determining how his wrist progresses. His next big decision will be whether to play the Rome Masters 1000 (6–17 May) or to head to the French capital without any warm-up matches. Operation Paris is underway.
