Carlos Alcaraz to miss Roland Garros due to ongoing issue within tennis

Carlos Alcaraz will not play at Roland Garros this year, and many are already starting to point fingers.

Alcaraz’s absence is a huge loss for the sport, and his injury has left a big gap in the tournament. It’s a blow for both fans and organisers, who will miss the buzz he brings every time he steps on court.

As the tennis world looks for answers, former Grand Slam champion Alex Corretja thinks the sport itself needs to have a hard look at its schedule.

Tennis told it must make a huge change soon

Appearing on Rai 2, Andrea Panatta called on the sport to step in and do more to protect players from injury.

“Everyone gets hurt here,” he began, emphasising the lose-lose nature of the current calendar.

“I want to appeal to the institutions that regulate tennis: injuries are multiplying at a very worrying rate, and this is very bad news for this sport.

“The most striking case is obviously Alcaraz’s injury, which will keep him out until Queen’s Club, that is, after Roland Garros.

“The problem is that these players will all get hurt sooner or later, without exception. Today’s game is very violent and subjects these guys to inhuman physical strain.

“Now, I’m not saying we need to go back to my time because we must always move forward. But if they don’t stop playing so much sooner or later they will all get hurt because this hysterical pace cannot be maintained for long.

Alcaraz has received plenty of support from fellow players since pulling out of the French Open. Sinner spoke about his withdrawal along with others who have reached out with similar messages of encouragement for him during his recovery period.

Alcaraz’s injury puts spotlight back on overloaded schedule

The busy tour calendar may have played a role in Carlos Alcaraz’s injury, but it’s the structure of the tennis season that left him with so few good options in the first place.

Scheduling should never put players in a position where they feel pressured to jump from one event to another just to keep pace. Built-in protections are needed.

If someone at Alcaraz’s level is feeling the effects of it, what hope do others lower down the rankings have?

Most players aren’t working with the same support teams or earning similar appearance fees, so asking them to play through similar conditions isn’t reasonable. And even for Alcaraz, it clearly wasn’t manageable this time around.

The quick turnaround between Monte Carlo and Barcelona left little time for recovery, and he ended up paying for it physically. It wasn’t just an unfortunate accident; it was a risk built into the schedule.

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