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

Juan Martin del Potro recently shared insights regarding Carlos Alcaraz‘s physical status, revealing that the two met in the United States while Alcaraz was still wearing a splint. Del Potro advised the young Spaniard to be patient with his recovery and avoid rushing his wrist. He noted that because he wanted to preserve his ranking during his own playing days, he committed mistakes that Alcaraz must avoid today.

Del Potro emphasized that given the large rankings gap between the top players and the rest of the tour, taking a few months off will not drastically damage a player’s standing.

He explicitly described Alcaraz’s decision to take those months off to heal as an intelligent choice. These remarks highlight the severe risks associated with returning too early from upper-limb trauma in professional tennis. Del Potro said on La Nación:

I have a close relationship with him. We met in the United States, he was still with the splint, and my advice was: ‘Patience with the wrist and don’t touch it’. I went through it myself, and at that moment, because I didn’t want to stop or lose that 4 or 5 in the ranking, I did things that Carlitos shouldn’t do today. Also, with such a gap between 1 and 2 and the rest, they can take a few months off and it won’t change much in the ranking. So, taking these months off was an intelligent decision.

Alcaraz missed four to five months of tour-level competition after sustaining a right wrist injury that forced him out of both the French Open and Wimbledon. This lengthy absence stripped him of crucial playing time during the middle stretch of the tennis season. However, the decision to step away completely allowed his body the necessary window to recuperate without immediate pressure.

.@delpotrojuan y @carlosalcaraz se encontraron en Estados Unidos, durante el Mundial. Debido a su experiencia en el tema, el tandilense siguió con atención la lesión de muñeca del español y le hizo una recomendación.
La entrevista completa, en @LANACION: https://t.co/roB8zUeFX9 pic.twitter.com/CSKwYqn0UB

— Sebastián Torok (@sebatorok) September 2, 2026

Del Potro’s close relationship with Alcaraz provided a unique platform for this mentorship, rooted in shared hardships on the professional circuit. By recounting his own past mistakes, the Argentine Grand Slam champion hopes to steer Alcaraz away from chronic joint damage. The warning underscores how delicate wrist stability is for modern power hitters on the ATP Tour.

Juan Martin del Potro’s extensive injury history

Juan Martin del Potro battled severe wrist problems throughout his career, which severely derailed his trajectory after winning the 2009 US Open. His right wrist required surgery following issues in early 2010, causing him to miss significant portions of the tennis calendar.

Later on, problems shifted to his left wrist, which bore the heavy load of his two-handed backhand. He underwent his first left-wrist surgery in March 2014, playing sparingly before recurring discomfort forced him to shut down his season.

Between January 2015 and June 2015, Del Potro underwent three separate operations on his left wrist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, dealing with ligament and tendon damage. These successive procedures sidelined him for roughly 11 months and sent his ranking outside the top 1000.

When he returned to competition in February 2016 at Delray Beach, he was forced to make significant changes to his game. He relied extensively on a one-handed slice backhand to protect his healing joint before eventually regaining the confidence to hit normal two-handed shots.

Carlos Alcaraz’s winning US Open return

Carlos Alcaraz made a triumphant return to Grand Slam competition at the US Open, defeating Russia’s Roman Safiullin in straight sets with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Playing his first official singles match in over four months, the second seed admitted he carried substantial doubts regarding whether his wrist and fitness would survive a best-of-five-set battle.

The opening set saw Alcaraz negotiate early pressure before converting a crucial break at 4-3 with a trademark forehand winner. He secured the first set 6-4 after Safiullin committed a vital backhand error under pressure.

The second set presented an immediate tactical hurdle when Safiullin surged to a 2-0 lead. Alcaraz instantly responded by leveling the score and breaking again at 4-3 to establish firm control over the match trajectory.

In the third set, Alcaraz saved three break points in the second game before breaking Safiullin at 3-1 to close out the contest. The victory marked his eighth consecutive win at Flushing Meadows and set up a second-round encounter against Portugal’s Jaime Faria.

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