Tennis star Carlos Alcaraz will not be able to defend his title at the French Open this year.
As the Spanish world number two announced on social networks on Friday (April 24, 2026), a wrist injury on his right arm is forcing him to take a longer break.
“Given the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most sensible thing to do is to exercise caution and not compete in Rome and at the French Open,” Alcaraz wrote on social networks: “It’s a difficult time for me, but I’m sure we’ll come out of it stronger.” Now he wants to do it first “wait for further developments” and then decide when he could return to the court. The seven-time Grand Slam winner won the French Open in 2024 and 2025.
Clay court season finished for Alcaraz
Alcaraz suffered the injury in the first round of Barcelona last week. After his win against Otto Virtanen, he withdrew from the tournament. The Spaniard then had to cancel the current Masters in Madrid due to the injury. Alcaraz will not be at the Masters in Rome either.
The clay court season is over for the designated successor to Spanish tennis king Rafael Nadal. This is bad news for fans – because there will be no repeat of last year’s epic final against his great rival Jannik Sinner, whom Alcaraz defeated in five breathless sets, in Paris.
Jannik Sinner, number one again since April 12th, is now expected to move ahead in the ATP rankings in the coming weeks – even though Alcaraz triumphed at the Australian Open in January. In Melbourne, the Spaniard became the youngest player in tennis history to complete the career Grand Slam.
No Semi-final duel from Zverev with Sinner
The Spaniard’s cancellation increased German tennis star Alexander Zverev’s chances of winning. He is seeded number two in the draw for the French Open and can therefore only meet Sinner in the final at the earliest. Zverev lost the last eight duels against the South Tyrolean, most recently three times in the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo.
