Kim Clijsters ‘Curious’ About Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘Secretive’ Wrist Injury Amid Potential Comeback

Carlos Alcaraz‘s name is on the entry list of the Cincinnati Masters, the main draw of which is scheduled to start on August 13. If he plays, it will be his first tournament since the Barcelona Open, where, after playing his opening-round match, he withdrew due to a wrist injury.

Because of the injury, the seven-time Grand Slam champion missed both the French Open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz has not provided any details about the injury, and this has sparked curiosity among many, including former WTA World No.1 Kim Clijsters.

I hope that we’ll maybe hear a little bit more about it once he starts coming back, where he explains it a little bit more. But I feel like he’s been very kind of like he has been secretive, but he hasn’t.

Kim Clijsters said on the Love All podcast

The Murcia native has already played three finals this season. He beat Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final to become the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam.

In Doha, he defeated Arthur Fils in the final. But later at the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz failed to defend his title, losing in the final to Jannik Sinner, and as a result, he lost his No.1 ranking to the five-time Grand Slam champion.

Like we’ve seen him with a brace or a cast, and you know at the start, and then I think you know he posts some clips here and there where he’s actually hitting and doing some drills, but I haven’t seen anything of him like playing full out yet either. So, I’m just very curious to see.

Kim Clijsters added

At present, Alcaraz is third in the rankings table. Alexander Zverev removed him from the second position after his run to the final at Wimbledon (lost to Sinner).

Coach reveals how Tommy Paul is challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Although Jannik Sinner holds a 4-1 head-to-head lead over Tommy Paul, every match except the 2023 Canadian Open semifinal was a tight affair. In last year’s Italian Open semifinal, Paul even won the first set 6-1, though he eventually ended up losing.

Against Carlos Alcaraz, Paul trails 2-6 in the head-to-head meetings, with the Spaniard winning their last five clashes, including the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open, which Alcaraz won after a tough fight.

Paul’s coach, Brad Stine, revealed what steps they took to challenge the World No.1 and the World No.3. He told Tennis Channel:

That was a big part of our Tommy 6.0. We pushed Tommy to become a little bit more a shot maker, more aggressive with his basic groundstrokes and hitting style, so he is trying to take a little bit more time away from that.

Paul was last seen in action at Wimbledon, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the third round. This year, he has so far played four finals, winning the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships and losing the Delray Beach Open, Hamburg European Open, and the Queen’s Club Championships.

Sinner, on the other hand, has clinched six titles so far this season. He first lifted the first five Masters 1000 trophies, then lost to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round of the French Open, before defending his title at SW19.

Sinner is next scheduled to play at the Canadian Open, which he won in 2023. The Italian will complete the Golden Masters if he wins the remaining four Masters 1000s (Canadian Open, Cincinnati Masters, Shanghai Masters, and the Paris Masters). Paul will next be competing at the Citi Open, the main draw of which is set to start on July 27.

Also read: Serena Williams’ Coach Explains What Change Linda Noskova Needs in Her Game to Reach No.1 Ranking