Alcaraz explains the extent of the injury that forced him to withdraw from Barcelona

Pedro de Pablos | 15 Apr 2026 | 17.31

Alcaraz explains the extent of the injury that has forced him to withdraw from Barcelona

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Carlos Alcaraz has decided to withdraw from the 2026 Barcelona Open without stepping onto the court for his round of 16 match against Tomas Machac. The issue is a wrist injury he felt in his debut match in the tournament against Otto Virtanen, which has led the Spanish tennis player to pull out of the competition to preserve his physical condition, as he explained in a press conference.

After reaching the final in the Monte-Carlo Masters against Jannik Sinner last Sunday, Alcaraz had less than 48 hours of rest before attempting to win the championship trophy on the Rafa Nadal Court, in a tournament that was particularly special to him and could have allowed him to reclaim the number one spot in the ATP ranking. However, his body has sent him a signal, and the player from Murcia has chosen to listen to it so as not to aggravate the situation and be able to compete in the upcoming clay court swing, where there will be a lot at stake in Madrid, Rome, and Roland Garros.

A dejected Alcaraz attended the press conference to confirm what had been official for a few minutes. "Well, good afternoon everyone. First of all, it's strange and difficult to sit here for the second time, because I've done it before, and announce that I won't be able to continue in the tournament. As you all could see yesterday during the match, after a return, I felt my wrist giving in, and I started to feel discomfort that gradually worsened throughout the match," the Spanish player began.

Alcaraz reveals that the wrist injury is more serious than expected

Despite his reassuring words yesterday, his feelings turned out to be wrong, leading to a disastrous outcome for his interests and for tennis in general. "As I said yesterday, I referred back to my words; it's a situation that I thought I had experienced before and that it wouldn't worsen, just mild discomfort from the demands throughout the week. But today's tests showed it's a slightly more serious injury than any of us expected, and the truth is, as I've said, I have to listen to my body, listen to what's best for me to avoid future repercussions, and that's why I have to withdraw from this tournament."

Alarming words from Carlos Alcaraz, who, in the midst of the battle for the number one spot, does not confirm if he will be available for the upcoming Mutua Madrid Open which starts in a week. Therefore, we will have to wait for further updates from him and his team to know if he can compete at 100% in the swing where he defends the most points, with the Rome Masters 1000 and Roland Garros just around the corner, tournaments in which he is the defending champion. However, his priority now is to recover from that wrist injury.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz explica el alcance de la lesión que le ha obligado a retirarse de Barcelona