Carlos Alcaraz Ready to Skip Events and Take Long Breaks to Avoid Injuries Amid Packed Calendar: “They’re Making Us Play More”

Carlos Alcaraz overcame a set deficit to knock out Jaime Faria 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of the US Open. Alcaraz, who is competing in his first tournament since injuring his wrist in the first round of the Barcelona Open, wants to take long breaks in the future to avoid possible injuries.

He remained on the sidelines for nearly five months, with the injury forcing him to skip Wimbledon, the French Open and a few Masters 1000 events. The 23-year-old has been pretty vocal about the packed calendar and its effects on the players.

He is not the only top player who complains about the schedule. There have been calls to shorten the calendar (including from someone like Novak Djokovic, who has reached the twilight of his career) to give players some time between tournaments to recharge and reset. But the ATP Tour is only expanding the calendar.

Last year, both the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters became a part of the two-week Masters 1000 format, joining five other events. Both Masters 1000s previously used to be weeklong events. Only the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Paris Masters are contested over a span of a week.

Seeing how tight the calendar is, obviously I don’t want to have this break because of an injury. But in the future, I’m gonna take some breaks…some long breaks. Maybe not four months, but one month, two months…start missing some tournaments because it’s impossible to play them all. They’re adding more important tournaments. In a way, they’re making us play…

Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference

Several high-profile players have been dealing with injury issues, including Alcaraz’s arch-rival Jannik Sinner. Many have blamed Sinner’s schedule for his injury, as he played the first five Masters 1000s of the season, where he not only made deep runs but won every title.

Later at the French Open, Sinner struggled physically and ended up losing in the second round. And after defending his title at Wimbledon, it came to light that he has been dealing with a knee injury, which forced him to withdraw from the US Open.

We’re seeing a lot of players getting injured, a lot of players getting tired. If they don’t do anything about it, we’re gonna see it even more in the future.

Carlos Alcaraz added

Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, and Joao Fonseca also pulled out of the US Open due to injury issues.

Juan Martin del Potro on the advice he gave to Carlos Alcaraz

Wrist injuries are considered career-threatening. It derailed the careers of former Grand Slam champions such as Juan Martin del Potro and Dominic Thiem.

And so when Carlos Alcaraz suffered one, he was advised not to rush his comeback. He, in fact, received advice from the Argentine himself. Speaking to La Nacion, del Potro revealed what he told the seven-time Grand Slam champion:

We crossed paths in the United States, he was still wearing the splint, and my advice was: ‘Patience with the wrist and don’t touch it.’ I suffered through it myself, and at that time, not wanting to stop or not wanting to lose that four- or five-spot in the ranking, I did things that Carlitos doesn’t have to do today.

Alcaraz will next be locking horns with Wu Yibing, who beat James Duckworth. The Spaniard is chasing his third title of the season at Flushing Meadows.

Earlier this season, he won the Australian Open and the Qatar Open and later lost the Monte-Carlo Masters to Jannik Sinner. If Alcaraz defends his title, the points he will earn won’t be enough to dethrone Sinner from the No.1 ranking.

Also read: Juan Martin del Potro Sends Urgent Wrist Warning to Carlos Alcaraz After US Open Return