Jessica Pegula gives her take on whether Carlos Alcaraz made the right call to skip Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the French Open, and his absence has already changed the feel of the entire event.

The two-time defending champion was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros after picking up a right wrist injury at the Barcelona Open.

With Alcaraz sidelined, Jannik Sinner is now seen as the clear favourite to win his first French Open title. The Spaniard’s withdrawal has also boosted Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev’s hopes of hitting their own career milestones this summer.

Jessica Pegula, currently ranked fifth in the world on the WTA Tour, shared her initial thoughts on Alcaraz’s withdrawal from Roland Garros during a press conference following her fourth-round loss at Rome.

Jessica Pegula says Carlos Alcaraz made the right call by pulling out of Roland Garros

Speaking on the Player’s Box Podcast, Pegula said: “I just feel like he’s so young. I forgot he is 22. I was like just don’t play.

“You have so long ahead of you and you are already so good. Do not risk that.

“It felt like it was the right decision.”

Jennifer Brady, who reached the final of the Australian Open in 2021 and climbed as high as number 13 in the world, also weighed in on Alcaraz’s decision.

PROJECTED Roland Garros Top 5 seeds after Carlos Alcaraz withdrawal

The American shared her view on Alcaraz’s choice to miss this year’s tournament:

“Obviously it was a really tough decision but hopefully it’s the right decision and he rests and recovers as soon as possible.”

The American shared her view on Alcaraz’s choice to miss this year’s tournament:

The event is set to begin on June 15th and will also feature British rising star Jack Draper.

Alcaraz is a two-time defending champion at Queen’s Club, having beaten Jiri Lehecka in last year’s final.

Carlos Alcaraz set to lose 3,000 ATP ranking points during clay-court swing

Alcaraz is expected to drop 3,000 ATP ranking points after pulling out of both the Italian Open and Roland Garros.

The reason for this is that he won both tournaments last year, defeating Jannik Sinner in each final.

If his injury also keeps him out of the grass-court swing, he stands to lose even more ground in the rankings.

He’s currently defending 500 points from his win at Queen’s Club in 2025 and another 1,300 from reaching the Wimbledon final last year.

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