Alcaraz’s French Open status is still uncertain ahead of Roland GarrosWith less than a month to go until Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz is preparing to defend his Grand Slam title, but doubts are growing about his fitness.
After winning his first match in Barcelona, Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament due to a right wrist injury.
The Spaniard also missed the Madrid Open and has since been seen wearing a wrist splint. It’s another setback after missing time earlier in the season with forearm issues.
Alcaraz has won two consecutive titles at Roland Garros, including a comeback win over Jannik Sinner last year. But this latest injury raises questions about whether he’ll be ready to chase a third straight championship.
Patrick Mouratoglou has shared his thoughts on Instagram: “Based on the information we have and what we’ve seen of the forearm of Carlos Alcaraz, I don’t see how he can play Roland Garros.
“First of all, I’m glad that Carlos Alcaraz is thinking about his future rather than thinking about the short term. How bad is the injury? I have no idea.
“Seeing those images makes me think I don’t know how he can play Roland Garros. Maybe it’s not that bad, and it was only security.
“I don’t know. But my experience tells me that if they decided to put a splint, it’s not a good sign. First of all, because the wrists have to be completely still.
“And second, for a week, two weeks, three weeks, I don’t know, the muscles are not going to work at all. The muscles are going to start to shrink, and then it will take time to come back.”
Mouratoglou also added: “So for me, it’s difficult to imagine Carlos playing Roland Garros. Of course, it’s a difficult decision to not play in Madrid, which is his home city.
“And probably not play Rome and maybe skip even Roland Garros.
Mouratoglou went on to say: “He said the career is long. I’m not going to jeopardise potentially my career for short term even though the short term is very important.
Alcaraz has a chance to join an elite group if he’s fit enough to compete in Paris. Only two players in the Open Era have ever won three straight titles at Roland Garros.
Since 1968, Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal are the only men to win three consecutive French Open titles.
Borg claimed four straight from 1978 to 1981. Nadal had three separate stretches of dominance: four in a row twice, and one run of five straight.
If Alcaraz manages to lift the trophy again this year, it would give him eight Grand Slam titles, putting him level with Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi and Jimmy Connors on the all-time list.
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