Carlos Alcaraz Finds Support Amid Harsh Criticism Over His Recent Withdrawals: “What a Shame”

Carlos Alcaraz‘s sudden withdrawal from Wimbledon has divided the tennis world. Alcaraz has been sidelined since Barcelona with a wrist injury, and now has withdrawn from both the French Open and Wimbledon. A few fans lamented his withdrawals, but former pros did not hold back as they slammed him for overplaying. With the recent withdrawals set to cost him up to 3,700 points, the Spaniard received backing from a former star who blasted the critics for their “ignorance.”

Many feel that the 23-year-old should have tried his best to recover from his injury rather than pulling out of Wimbledon, a tournament that is still over a month away.

With criticism raining from every side, a former World No. 2, Alex Corretja, has called out the critics. He pointed out that Alcaraz withdrew from the Barcelona Open because he wanted to save energy for the upcoming Grand Slams, but his body just didn’t support him.

“Thank goodness Alcaraz pulled out of the Godó (Barcelona Open) because he didn’t care about the tournament and wanted to save energy for the rest of the clay and grass tour! What a shame, so much ignorance, and worse, so much bad faith from a lot of people,” Corretja wrote on X.

Former players Benoit Paire and Greg Rusedski led the criticism of the Spaniard for his injuries and subsequent withdrawals. Rusedski blamed Alcaraz’s misplaced priorities for his troubles. “I think Alcaraz has played too much tennis. He’s had almost no real rest since last season. Looking at the packed schedule, it’s clear he needs to prioritize getting off the court to rest rather than participating in non-professional events,” he added. Paire criticised Alcaraz’s choice to play too many exhibitions and then complained about the long calendar.

Alcaraz confirmed his withdrawal from the grass-court season through a social media post on Tuesday. The Spaniard first assured his fans that his recovery was going well, but had added that he still wouldn’t be able to regain his fitness in time for the grass swing.

“My recovery is going well, and I feel much better, but unfortunately, I’m still not ready to be able to play, and that’s why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen’s and Wimbledon. They are two really special tournaments for me, and I’ll miss them a lot. We keep working to return as soon as possible!” he wrote in a post on X.

It is safe to say that the wrist injury has pretty much ruined Alcaraz’s season. He had an incredible start to the year and won his first 15 matches. The 23-year-old even clinched the titles at the Australian Open and Qatar Open. While he did lose a bit of ground at the Sunshine Double and Monte Carlo Masters, he was still expected to win several titles later in the season.

However, now there is no guarantee when Alcaraz will return to the court. Doubts linger over whether Alcaraz can compete at the elite level immediately upon return.

The World No. 2 has already fallen way behind his rival Jannik Sinner in the rankings. The Italian has made up a massive 2,740-point gap between himself and Alcaraz with his triumphs in Madrid and Rome. The gap is only set to increase further following Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the grass swing.

How many points will Carlos Alcaraz lose due to his withdrawals?

Last year, Alcaraz won the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club by defeating Jiri Lehecka in a thrilling final. This victory earned him 500 points, and he would then go on to reach the final of Wimbledon. Despite being defeated by Sinner, Alcaraz still earned 1,200 points from the Grand Slam.

The Spaniard currently holds 11,960 points on the rankings and is set to drop 1,700 points due to his withdrawals from the grass swing. Not to mention that Alcaraz will also be dropping 2,000 points due to his withdrawal from the French Open, where he had clinched the title by defeating Sinner in a five-set marathon last year.

As a result, Alcaraz will be dropping a total of 3,700 points due to his withdrawals from the three upcoming tournaments. However, it is unlikely that his ranking will plummet because of this, as World No. 3 Alexander Zverev currently holds 5,705 points. He will have to put in solid performances in all the upcoming competitions in order to surpass Alcaraz in the rankings.

Having already withdrawn from the grass swing, Alcaraz will now be hoping to get back in action as soon as the hard-court season commences later in July.

Trending Articles

The post Carlos Alcaraz Finds Support Amid Harsh Criticism Over His Recent Withdrawals: “What a Shame” appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.