Rafael Nadal Shares His Thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz’s Wrist Injury and Roland Garros Withdrawal

Carlos Alcaraz is not in action because he injured his wrist during the Barcelona Open, which forced him to give a walkover to Tomas Machac in the second round. He was next forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open as well as the ongoing Italian Open.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion, in fact, will not be defending his title at Roland Garros, where in 2024 he defeated Alexander Zverev and defended it last year after a thrilling final against his arch-rival Jannik Sinner.

Rafael Nadal also dealt with similar injury problems, so he understands what Alcaraz is going through at the moment. Nadal, during his interview with RNE Deportes at the opening of his new museum, said he had talked with the 22-year-old but refused to disclose what they discussed. The King of Clay also backed Alcaraz’s decision to skip the French Open.

I think at this stage he’s a very complete player, winning everywhere, right? But, well, I think where he has the most ability to make a difference, in my opinion, is during the clay court season, right? So, what’s happened to him during this time of year? Well, I think it’s tough, but he’s still very young.

Alcaraz has lifted two titles this year- the Australian Open by beating Novak Djokovic and the Qatar Open against Arthur Fils. After his exits at the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami before reaching the final, Alcaraz couldn’t defend his Monte-Carlo Masters title, losing to Sinner.

I don’t think so. I think he’s made the right decisions, taking into account that he’s very young, that he has a whole career ahead of him, and he’s getting the treatment he needs because it’s something I know well, because I suffered this injury twice, the same thing he’s broken now, the problem he has with his wrist.

Rafael Nadal added

Alcaraz is expected to be back for the Wimbledon Championships, which is set to start on June 29. Alcaraz failed to complete the three-peat last year, losing in four sets to Sinner.

Injury expert on Carlos Alcaraz’s injury

Injury prevention and athlete welfare expert Stephen Smith, during his interview with Tennis365, discussed Carlos Alcaraz‘s injury woes. Smith, the founder and CEO of Kitman Labs, also discussed how serious a tendon sheath injury can be.

If it’s a tendon itself, you could have some level of partial tear. That can be quite concerning in a tendon, especially in a tennis player, because those tendons are extremely small; there’s a lot of pressure and stress that goes through them, they’re obviously important for every single stroke. And that could be much more debilitating. But if it’s just the sheath, [that is] generally indicative of the fact that it might be an over-stretch, might be a slight strain.

Smith also thinks Alcaraz made a wise decision by withdrawing from the French Open. The clay-court Major kicks off on May 24th.

Alcaraz lost his No.1 ranking to Sinner after losing the Monte Carlo final. He had 4,300 points to defend on the clay swing, as he did last year: after winning the title in The Principality, Alcaraz lost to Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final, skipped the Madrid Open due to an injury, and clinched the Italian Open and the French Open by defeating Sinner.

Because of Alcaraz’s absence, Sinner will enter the French Open as the heavy favorite and will be bidding to complete the Career Grand Slam and become the seventh man in the Open Era to achieve this. The last man to accomplish this feat was Alcaraz at this year’s Australian Open.

Also read: Former Grand Slam Champion Slams Alexander Zverev for ‘Reacting Like a Child’ After Rome Exit: “I Get Bored”