‘We’re Being Kept in the Dark’ — Carlos Alcaraz’s Injury Raises Concerns As Rusedski Draws Rafael Nadal Parallel

Carlos Alcaraz’s three-month absence from the tour has left the tennis world searching for answers, with his right wrist injury and true condition remaining unclear, most recently after he withdrew from Cincinnati. Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski weighed in on the secrecy surrounding his fitness, drawing a comparison to one of Rafael Nadal’s French Open campaigns, in which he played through the pain.

Greg Rusedski Raises Serious Concerns Over Carlos Alcaraz’s Mystery Injury While Drawing Rafael Nadal Parallel

It was in April that the 23-year-old injured his right (dominant) wrist during his first-round match at the Barcelona Open. The diagnosis was wrist tenosynovitis, which is a painful inflammation of the protective sheath surrounding the tendons in his wrist.

As this condition required complete rest, Alcaraz had to withdraw from Barcelona and miss Madrid, Rome, the French Open, Wimbledon, Montreal, and now Cincinnati as well.

On his podcast, “Off Court With Greg Rusedski,” alongside Tennis365’s Kevin Palmer, the former World No. 4 expressed concern over the timeline of Alcaraz’s recovery, suggesting the injury is far worse than initially reported. “If it was just a little bit of inflammation, a little problem, he would have been back by now,” he noted.

Rusedski believes there might be a tear or a minor surgery that his team is keeping from fans eager to see the seven-time Grand Slam champion back on the court. “The only people who know are Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of his team. But this is taking a lot longer than we thought… We’re just being kept in the dark here. We have no idea what’s going on.”

Palmer defended the Alcaraz camp’s silence as a standard competitive strategy, comparing it to Nadal’s, noting that the legend famously played the French Open with a severely compromised foot, as recently detailed in his documentary, “Rafa.” During his 2022 French Open run, Nadal had the nerves in his foot completely numbed so he could play through the agony.

However, Rusedski pointed out that comparing a foot injury to a wrist injury is a mistake. While a foot issue affects movement, an injured wrist is impossible to hide during a match. He thinks Nadal’s tactic is “a very dangerous thing” and not for other players, since Rafa is an exception.

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“There will only ever be one Rafa… A lot of players watch that documentary and think, ‘Oh, I can play through pain.’ Most people can’t, let’s be frank. And if they try to, they make it worse. Their careers could possibly end,” the Brit said.

Alcaraz continues his preparation on hard courts and is now expected to return at the US Open, which begins on August 30.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.