Madrid (AFP) – Carlos Alcaraz announced on Thursday that he will return at the US Open to defend his title after recovering from a wrist injury that has sidelined him for the past four months. “I’m back,” the seven-time Grand Slam champion said in a video posted on social media. “Here we go.”
The Spaniard has not played since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open in mid-April with a right wrist injury, missing both the French Open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam in January with his triumph, at age 22, at the Australian Open. He added the ATP hard court title in Doha in February.
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But after withdrawing in Barcelona, he pulled out of tournaments in Madrid and Rome before withdrawing from Roland Garros, where he was the two-time reigning champion. He pulled the plug on the French Open a month before the tournament was to start and withdrew from Wimbledon almost six weeks before The Championships were to begin. His camp has been stingy with details of the injury, reported to be tenosynovitis — in which fluid accumulates in a tendon sheath.
At Wimbledon, rival Jannik Sinner prevailed for the second year in a row, beating French Open winner Alexander Zverev in the final. In the wake of that victory, Sinner voiced the hope that he would soon renew his rivalry with the Spaniard. “We hope that Carlos is coming back … because tennis needs him,” Sinner said.
Zverev had moved into second in the world rankings ahead of Alcaraz after Wimbledon, but Alcaraz has since regained the No. 2 spot ahead of the German. Alcaraz had been slated to return for this week’s hard court tournament in Cincinnati, the last big tune-up for the US Open. When he withdrew, it sparked concerns he wouldn’t be ready to defend his title at Flushing Meadows, but those fears were allayed somewhat when photos of Alcaraz playing practice sets with ATP rival Holger Rune surfaced on social media this week.
Until this year, Alcaraz had missed just one Grand Slam since making his main draw debut at the 2021 Australian Open, missing Melbourne in 2023 with a hamstring injury.
© 2024 AFP
