The earliest Carlos Alcaraz can reclaim world number one after withdrawing from Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of both the Italian Open and Roland Garros as a result of a wrist injury, ruling him out for the remainder of the clay court season.

The issue, which occurred during his quarter-final win over Arthur Fils at the Barcelona Open, appeared to be minor at first, but it’s now kept him out much longer than anticipated.

Alcaraz was initially expected to return in time for Rome but will now miss even more time, with his next appearance not scheduled until Queen’s in June.

He has also already lost ground in his race with Jannik Sinner for the world number one spot and now his quest to reach the summit will be even longer.

Pathway to No. 1 for Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz is currently trailing Sinner by 440 points in the ATP rankings, and that gap could increase depending on how the Italian performs in Madrid.

Sinner is set to play both the Italian Open and Roland Garros without Alcaraz in the draw, so his position at the top of the rankings looks safe for now.

Sinner is locked in as world number one until at least Wimbledon. To hold onto that ranking beyond then, he’ll need to earn 710 points at The Championships.

He’s got a lot of ground to defend though, having picked up 2000 points with his title win there last year.

A semi-final run would be enough for Sinner to stay ahead of Alcaraz, who will be looking to close the gap during this crucial part of the season.

Sinner’s upcoming schedule without Alcaraz

Sinner has caught a few off guard by deciding to play in Madrid, but the chance to become the first male player to win five straight Masters titles is clearly motivating him.

He’s already claimed the Paris Masters, Indian Wells, Miami Open and Monte-Carlo Masters one after another, putting him in a strong position heading into Madrid.

Given his current form and path through the draw, where he won’t face a top-20 opponent until the semi-finals, Sinner is widely seen as the favourite to win the title.

After Madrid, Sinner will return home for the Italian Open. He reached the final there last year and will be looking to go one better this time around.

Once Rome is done, it’s on to Roland Garros, where he’ll be aiming to complete a Career Grand Slam by winning in Paris.

Looking further ahead, Sinner is expected to begin his grass-court season at Halle Open later this year. However that appearance hasn’t been officially confirmed just yet.

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