Carlos Alcaraz to miss 2026 French Open due to wrist injury

The 2026 French Open will look a little different this year, with Carlos Alcaraz officially confirming on social media that he will miss Roland-Garros due to a wrist injury. Alcaraz has won the past two French Open titles, including a grueling five-hour comeback against Jannik Sinner last year.

It’s not much of a surprise that Alcaraz is missing the French Open; at a press conference ahead of the Laureus Awards in Madrid on Monday — where he went on to win Sportsman of the Year — Alcaraz said that he was waiting on more tests on his wrist before he could determine his availability for this year’s French Open.

“I’m trying to have a lot of patience these days, but I’m doing OK,” he said in Spanish, via Teledeporte, adding that he was trying to “stay positive.”

Alcaraz already pulled out of the Madrid Open, which begins Monday. In a post on social media on Friday, Alcaraz made the “incredibly difficult” announcement that he would be missing the competition, adding that it “hurts” not to play in front of his home crowd in Spain. It’s the second year in a row that Alcaraz has missed the Madrid Open, pulling out of the competition last year due to injuries in both legs.

Additionally, a restaurant in Spain posted a photo on Monday of Alcaraz visiting one of their locations. In the photo, Alcaraz’s elaborate wrist splint is clearly visible.

Alcaraz and Sinner have absolutely dominated the men’s tennis circuit for the past three years, trading off major tournament titles. The last time a person who wasn’t Alcaraz or Sinner won a men’s Grand Slam was in 2023, when Novak Djokovic won the U.S. Open; since then, Alcaraz and Sinner have combined for the past nine Grand Slams.

Alcaraz, though, has won the last two Grand Slams in a row, winning the Australian Open in February to become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam. He has also been more dominant on the clay, beating Sinner in the past two French Opens.

Alcaraz’s absence leaves the field open for Sinner, who has yet to win at Roland-Garros — the only Grand Slam he has yet to pick up. It also breaks a streak for the pair, who have faced each other in six Grand Slam finals, including three last year alone.

Most recently, Sinner defeated Alcaraz at the Monte-Carlo Masters to retake the No. 1 ATP ranking.