Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona Open due to a wrist injury following his run to the final at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Alcaraz lost to Jannik Sinner in the Monte-Carlo title bout, falling in straight sets to the Italian and dropping one spot down the ATP rankings to world number two.
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Despite the defeat, the Spaniard enjoyed a strong start to his clay swing at the Masters 1000 event, and was set to compete in Barcelona, where he was due to defend 330 ATP points.
However, Alcaraz recently revealed his wrist ‘gave out’ in the match with Sinner, and the injury is ‘more serious’ than he and his team had expected.
Following his withdrawal, Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci, said the 22-year-old made the smart decision.
Rick Macci said Carlos Alcaraz made ‘right call’ after withdrawal
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Macci said of Alcaraz’s withdrawal: “The Spanish Magician made the right call by pulling out of the tournament.
“Athletes at the highest level know the drill. It is a slippery slope, and he has to pump the brakes.
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“Because a wrist forearm injury, especially with a high octane explosive gunslinger like Carlos, it can linger to the hand and finger.”
Alcaraz was denied in the final of last year’s Barcelona Open by Holger Rune, with the Dane securing his first tour-level title in two years.
After the loss, Alcaraz went on an extraordinary run, winning the Italian Open, Roland Garros and Queen’s consecutively.
Carlos Alcaraz’s points to defend during the clay swing
Sinner’s new lead on Alcaraz at the top of the ATP rankings increased after the latter withdrew from Barcelona.
Now, that gap is in danger of getting bigger considering how many points Alcaraz has to defend during the clay swing.
Alcaraz will have the chance to close the gap if he enters the Madrid Open, where he did not compete last year.
However, he will then have to protect 1000 points at the Italian Open and 2000 at Roland Garros.
It does not stop there for Alcaraz, who will defend a significant amount of points from now through to the US Open.
- Italian Open – 1000 points
- Roland Garros – 2000 points
- Queen’s – 500 points
- Wimbledon – 1300 points
- Cincinnati Open – 1000 points
- US Open – 2000 points
With a tally of 13,240 ATP points, Alcaraz trails Sinner by 110, but has a healthy lead on third-placed Alexander Zverev, who has 5,555.
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