Concerning Carlos Alcaraz News Drops Amid Lengthy Injury Absence

There are growing concerns that Carlos Alcaraz may not be medically cleared to return in time for the U.S. Open, where he was expected to defend his title after missing nearly four months of action with a right wrist injury.

The Spaniard recently withdrew from next month’s Canadian Open, which was expected to be his tune-up in the hard-court swing leading into Flushing Meadows. Subsequently, he shared an update on his recovery on Instagram, but the footage raised some red flags among analysts, fans and even former players such as Boris Becker.

In his IG post, Alcaraz wrote “Por el buen camino” — which translates to “on the right path” — along with videos of him hitting tennis balls with his injured right wrist. Upon watching the videos, Becker felt that Alcaraz was nowhere near a return to the court.

“Nice to see him hit a little but still far off I am afraid,” wrote the six-time major winner.

Carlos Alcaraz Injury Timeline

Tennis365’s Kevin Palmer reported last week that Alcaraz’s injury was healing slower than expected, sparking fears of the World No.3 missing the rest of the season. The report added that Alcaraz was almost certain to also miss the Cincinnati Masters, the final ATP-1000 event ahead of the US Open — the final major of the year.

“The footage showing Alcaraz pushing gently at the ball in what appeared to be very early stages of his recovery made the prospect of him returning to play at next month’s Cincinnati Masters and then the US Open seem distant,” wrote Palmer.

“The level of load Alcaraz will need to put through his wrist when he returns to action will need to be increased several times over before he can consider a return to action.

“The images released by Alcaraz would appear to show a player at the start of a long road back to recovery, with a comeback date in the final weeks of this year more likely.”

When Will Carlos Alcaraz Return?

Amid concerns of Alcaraz’s injury status, Spanish outlet La Verdad reported this week that the seven-time major winner “may receive final clearance” to return to training in the coming weeks, with hopes of returning at the US Open.

“The Murcia-born player is due to undergo a final medical check-up next Friday. Barring any last-minute complications, everything seems to suggest that Alcaraz could be given the all-clear to return to training and begin preparing for the hard-court tour.”

Alcaraz suffered an inflamed tendon sheath injury in his right wrist at the Barcelona Open in mid-April, and subsequently withdrew from the Madrid Open, Italian Open, French Open, Queen’s Club Championships, Wimbledon and most recently the Canadian Open. There was initially optimism that he would be cleared for the grass-court summer swing, but he reportedly suffered several setbacks in his rehab.

Several pundits have urged the 23-year-old Alcaraz not to rush his return, warning that significant wrist injuries previously derailed the careers of major winners like Dominic Thiem and Juan Martín del Potro.

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