Carlos Alcaraz pulls out of French Open as reigning champion issues devastating statement | Tennis | Sport

Carlos Alcaraz has announced that he will miss next month’s French Open and the rest of the clay season. The world No. 2 picked up a wrist injury at last week’s Barcelona Open and pulled out of the tournament ahead of his second-round match. He also withdrew from the Madrid Open.

Now, the 2024 and 2025 champion at Roland Garros has confirmed that he will miss the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, as well as the French Open, after undergoing tests. Alcaraz did not say when he would return to competition.

“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros as we wait to evaluate the progress so we can decide when to return to the court. This is a difficult time for me, but I am sure we will come out of it stronger,” the Spanish star wrote in an emotional statement on Friday.

Alcaraz recevied a medical time-out at 5-4 in the first set of his opening-round match against Otto Virtanen in Barcelona last Tuesday, and his wrist was bandaged up. He played on and won 6-4 6-2, but pulled out of the tournament the following day and said the injury was “more serious than expected”.

Last Friday, the seven-time Grand Slam champion announced that he would also miss the Masters 1000 event in Madrid. “There are some pieces of news that are incredibly hard to share,” he said.

“Madrid is home, one of the most special places on my calendar, and that’s why it hurts so much not to be able to play here for the second year in a row. It hurts especially not to be in front of my people, in a tournament that’s so special. Thank you for the unwavering affection, and I hope we see each other soon.”

Alcaraz has entered the ATP 500 event on the grass courts of the Queen’s Club, where he is the defending champion. The tournament gets underway on June 15, but the Spaniard has not yet confirmed whether he will return for the grass season. Wimbledon then kicks off on June 29. Alcaraz is a two-time former champion at the All England Club.

The wrist injury has come as a devastating blow for Alcaraz, who was elated to get back on the clay and intended to play a full schedule – Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros.

Ahead of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he eventually finished runner-up to Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz said: “This is probably one of the best ⁠times of the season for me. I miss clay every time the clay season is over. It’s been ​a long time since Roland Garros that I haven’t touched clay. In my first practices, I said to my team that it’s time to get the socks dirty ​again. It feels amazing to be back on clay.”

The world No. 2 also wrote “I missed clay” on the camera lens after his opening win in Monaco. But he has now been forced to sit out the rest of the clay season.

Last year, Alcaraz won three of the four clay tournaments he entered, the Monte Carlo Masters, the Italian Open, and the French Open, and finished runner-up in Barcelona. He will lose 3,000 ranking points as a result of missing Rome and Roland Garros.

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