Defending Champion is facing a race against time to be fit for the French Open 2026, which gets underway from May 18. Alcaraz is struggling with an inflammation of the tendon sheath in his right wrist, an injury he picked up during the first round match of the Barcelona Open against Otto Virtanen, which forced him to pull out of the Madrid Open.
Alcaraz is a two-time defending champion at Roland Garros, and he’ll be tempted to make it a hat-trick of wins, a feat only achieved by Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal. When asked about his French Open prospects, Alcaraz didn’t outright deny it and said that he will wait for the scan results.
“We’ll see,” Alcaraz said when asked about his chances of playing the French Open.
“The next test will be crucial. We’ve been trying to do everything we can to make sure it goes well. I’m trying to be very patient. We have a few tests in the next few days, and then we will see how the injury is, and what the next steps will be,” he added.
Roland Garros vs Career Longevity: A Crucial Call for Alcaraz
Alcaraz is a modern-day GOAT. At 22 years, he has seven Grand Slams to his name and is the youngest male player to complete the Career Grand Slam. Having won the Australian Open earlier this year, Alcaraz is the favourite to win Roland Garros, which will keep hopes alive for a calendar Grand Slam. But there’s risk involved. Risk so big that it could bring Alcaraz’s dominance to a complete halt. And Alcaraz doesn’t have to look too far behind for lessons.
Lessons from the Past: When Injuries Changed Careers
One of the most notable examples is of Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine had the talent to be among tennis’ Big Three. Many predicted him to be Novak Djokovic’s rival in 2010, but frequent wrist injuries meant that he couldn’t reach his true potential. Del Potro injured his wrist in the 2009 US Open and then pushed through the Australian Open 2010, which affected his game.
In 2014, he had wrist pain again, this time on his left wrist, and he was forced to let go of his famous two-handed backhand and had to turn to slice more than he ever did. He did reach the US Open final in 2018, but Del Potro couldn’t reach his peak after injury.
Similarly, Rafael Nadal picked up a wrist injury at the Madrid Open in 2016 and then played the French Open, where he had to withdraw from the third round. The injury also forced Nadal to miss Wimbledon.
Dominic Thiem suffered a more extreme version of Alcaraz’s injury, and it forced him to retire at 32 years old.
“I think the way we do the sport, it’s not healthy, and at one point, one part or more parts of the body break down,” Theim told the Guardian. “You can see it with almost every player; there is no player who comes injury-free through their career. That’s just the way of professional sport.
Nick Kyrgios is another example who was forced to miss plenty of tournaments due to wrist injuries. He picked up an injury during the 2022 US Open and required reconstructive surgery. Since then, he has been in and out of action, and his career continues to nosedive.
Alcaraz must learn from history. There is a French Open title to defend, but what’s at stake is far more important than winning the French Open right now.