Carlos Alcaraz awaiting test results for wrist injury with French Open title defence at risk

Carlos Alcaraz is awaiting the ​results of tests on his injured wrist before making a decision about defending his French Open title next month.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion picked up the injury in the first round of the Barcelona Open earlier this ⁠month before withdrawing from ​the ⁠tournament.

Scans showed the issue was more serious than initially thought and he ⁠then skipped the Madrid Open.

The 22-year-old also missed the Madrid Open last season due to a right leg injury, meaning he has been forced to miss his home tournament in the Spanish capital for a second year in a row.

“The next test ​will ⁠be crucial,” Alcaraz ‌told Spanish television channel TVE.

“We’ve been trying to do everything we can do to ‌make sure that this test ‌goes well. I’m trying to be very patient. But we are good, we are just waiting a ⁠little bit.

The 22-year-old added: “We have a few tests in the next few days and then we will see how the injury is, and what the next steps will be.”

Alcaraz, who was crowned Sportsman of the ‌Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards on ​Monday, surrendered the world number one ‌ranking to Jannik ⁠Sinner after losing to the Italian ⁠in the Monte Carlo Masters final days before his ‌Barcelona opener, a win over Otto Virtanen.

The seven-time grand slam champion, who will begin the defence of his French Open title next month, had told reporters that the injury “is more serious than any of us expected” and said he would “need to listen to my body” to avoid further damage.

The ​French Open will start ‌from 24 May in ​Paris, with the next possible assignment for Alcaraz coming at the Italian Open in Rome next month.

Additional reporting from Reuters