Carlos Alcaraz's Wrist Injury Causes Worry at Barcelona

The turnaround from the Monte-Carlo Masters to the Barcelona Open was extremely quick for Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish superstar went from an emotionally draining finals defeat straight into an opening-round match against Otto Virtanen.

Carlos Alcaraz's wrist injury assessment

Alcaraz defeated Virtanen in straight sets (6-4, 6-2), but is dealing with wrist pain. In a translated Spanish interview with Eurosport, Alcaraz reportedly said, "In the end, they are discomforts that come out. I think I've played a lot of games in a few days, with very little rest between games."

Alcaraz added, "Coming here, with a travel issue and little preparation and jumping on the track... In the end, there are always small discomforts that you have to try to take care of as best as possible. Now, when I leave, I will talk to my team, the physio will assess me, and we will see how it goes. But I believe and feel that it is not going to be anything serious, that we will be able to take the court on Thursday."

Carlos Alcaraz will miss practice today

Out of an abundance of caution due to the pain in his wrist, Alcaraz will skip his practice session scheduled for this Wednesday at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona facilities. Instead of hitting the clay courts, Alcaraz has chosen to do treatment at the hotel with his physiotherapist, Juanjo Moreno.

Alcaraz is the ATP World No. 2 with a singles record of 22-3 with two singles titles. Before the start of the season, Alcaraz made the surprising decision to shake up his coaching staff. So far, it has paid off for the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

Carlos Alcaraz's place in Barcelona

Alcaraz is scheduled to face Tomáš Macháč in the Round of 16 tomorrow, Thursday, April 16. The two players have faced off twice (both times in 2024), with each player taking a victory on hard court.

The Barcelona Open (Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell) is an ATP 500 event played at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899, the oldest Spanish tennis club, since 1953. The clay court tournament runs through April 19, 2026. Alcaraz has won the tournament twice (2022 and 2023) but lost to Holger Rune in the final last year. Rafael Nadal holds the record with 12 titles at this event.

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