Carlos Alcaraz will return to competition at the US Open in New York, ending more than four months out with a right wrist injury. The Spaniard announced on Thursday that he will defend his title at the season’s final Grand Slam.
Alcaraz has not played since 14 April, when he opened with a win in Barcelona and then withdrew before his next match as the wrist problem worsened. What first looked like a minor setback turned into the longest layoff of his career.
Recovery and Return to Competition
Caution guided every step of his recovery. He pulled out of Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros, where he was the two-time defending champion. In May, he confirmed he would also skip the grass swing, missing Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, tournaments he has won twice. He later withdrew from Canada and Cincinnati as the wrist still wasn’t ready for match stress.
By late July, he had gone more than 100 days without an official match. Training in Murcia gradually intensified: fitness work led to on-court sessions with the wrist protected, then the return of full forehands and a steady increase in pace and power.
In recent days, he tested himself against top-level opposition, sharing practice courts in Murcia with Holger Rune. Those sessions aimed to simulate the demands he will face in New York, though competition presents a different challenge.
Alcaraz will enter the US Open without a tune-up event and go straight into best-of-five-set play. His wrist must handle serving, heavy forehands, and potentially long matches across two weeks, leaving little time to play his way into form.
New York has been a turning point in his career. He reached the quarter-finals there in 2021 as a teenager. In 2022, he won his first major at Flushing Meadows and became the youngest World No. 1. He captured the title again in 2025, reaching the final without dropping a set, defeating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and overcoming Jannik Sinner for the trophy to secure his sixth Grand Slam and reclaim the top ranking.
Now he returns to the city where his rise accelerated, looking to reestablish his rhythm after a long break and to defend the crown he won last year. This US Open presents a unique opportunity for Alcaraz, as he aims to demonstrate resilience and reclaim his status among the elite in tennis.