Former Wimbledon Champion Shares His Concerns About Carlos Alcaraz’s Wrist Injury

Former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek has pointed out that Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury is tougher than the media has explained. Although no report has revealed the full extent of the injury, there have been suggestions that it might not sideline the player for long.

Alcaraz picked up a wrist injury while trying to hit a forehand shot; he twisted his arm against Otto Virtanen in the second round of the Barcelona Open. Despite winning the match after the injury scare, he felt different the following day and had to undergo a test that showed that he had indeed suffered an injury in his wrist.

He withdrew from the Barcelona Open and Madrid Open, but subsequently pulled out of other tournaments, including the Wimbledon Championships. However, there are now hopes that the World No.3 might be back on tour ahead of the US Open. He recently posted an update on social media, showing photos of himself undergoing a series of training sessions on hard courts.

A few weeks ago, Spanish outlet La Verdad reported that Alcaraz was going to meet his doctors to give him their final green light on beginning intense training sessions on the court. The same publication reported earlier this week that the seven-time champion is targeting a return to the tour at the Cincinnati Open.

Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Masters last year after Jannik Sinner decided to retire in the first set of their encounter. Alcaraz was leading 5-0 in the first set, with Sinner struggling to play his best tennis. Richard Krajicek told Tennis365 that he had a similar kind of injury that Alcaraz has and that it is tough to get back to the kind of level one is used to on the court:

There hasn’t been too much information. They’re much tougher injuries — these wrist or elbow injuries. I had an elbow injury myself. It’s really difficult to reset when you start playing again [after this type of injury]. So, you hit a little bit… You need to go step by step. It’s not as clear-cut as tearing the ligaments in your ankle, which they say is three or four months, and it’s always three or four months, and then you can play again.

In Alcaraz’s absence, Sinner has dominated the men’s circuit. The Italian star has won six titles since March, of which three came since Alcaraz suffered the wrist injury. Sinner has admitted that he aims to play at the Canadian Open in Montreal, which might take his tally to seven titles before Alcaraz’s hopeful return at Cincinnati.

Richard Krajicek believes Carlos Alcaraz will be back before the Indoor court season

Carlos Alcaraz’s injury has seen him drop out of the top 2 in the ATP rankings. The 22-year-old had wanted to play at the Barcelona Open to get back to the top of the men’s ranking, but his ambition ended with an injury. He has 3,000 points to defend this North American hard-court swing, which, if he fails to defend, will extend the gap between him and World No.2 Alexander Zverev.

However, Alcaraz is expected to be back on the court before the US Open, but there’s no report from his team about when he will come back from injury. During the aforementioned interview, Richard Krajicek revealed that if Alcaraz doesn’t return to the tour at the North American swing, he will be on the court for the Indoor court season:

So yeah, it takes a bit of time, but he’s young, and I think he’s got good healing power. I’m not concerned that he will play, and I’m not concerned that he’s going to return to his full form. But it’s a question of when. Is it gonna be for the hard courts [in North America]? Is it gonna be for the indoors? But still, I think it’s going to be this year.

Last year, Alcaraz struggled in indoor tournaments. He managed to win just the Japan Open, but didn’t perform well at the Paris Masters and the Laver Cup. Also, he didn’t win the ATP Finals, losing to Jannik Sinner in straight sets in the championship match.

Also Read: Kim Clijsters Believes ‘Obsession’ with Winning Is Iga Swiatek’s Biggest Issue Amid Slump in Form