The tennis player from Murcia was injured in training and will not be able to play the first Grand Slam of the season
Bad news for Spanish and world tennis ten days after the start of the Australian Open. The number one in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, was injured in training on Friday and will not be able to play the first Grand Slam of the year.
“When I was in my best pre-season moment, I injured myself in an accidental and forced gesture during training, this time in the semimembranosus muscle of my right leg. I had worked very hard to reach my best level in Australia,” Alcaraz said in a statement.
«Unfortunately I will not be able to play the Care A2+ Kooyong and the Australian Open. It’s a difficult moment, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look ahead. See you in 2024,” added the tennis player from El Palmar.
This ruins the start of the season for Alcaraz, who links two serious injuries between the end of last year and the start of this year. The Murcian injured his stomach during the last Masters 1,000 of 2022, the one in Paris-Bercy, and was unable to play the ATP Finals in Turin, the first of his career, and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
Once recovered, Alcaraz returned to the track after six weeks of rest in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi, a first contact with the competition that ended with two defeats against Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud before heading to Murcia to celebrate with your family.
Alcaraz suffered this injury before moving to Melbourne, where the first Grand Slam of the year will be played from December 16 to 29 and where he would be seeded first. Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil had a good chance to score points here, as he only defended last year’s third round; a loot of only 90 points.
However, this absence puts his privileged position at number one in jeopardy. The gap to Rafael Nadal, who can’t add anything in Australia as he is the defending champion, is 1,050 points, but most worrying is the threat of a Novak Djokovic who is a semi-finalist in Adelaide and who has a clear path in Melbourne, where he has nothing defends since he was deported last year.
The Serb is 1,910 points behind Alcaraz and could beat him as long as he gets his tenth victory at the Rod Laver Arena.
If the injury heals according to plan, Alcaraz will return to the track at the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro, a tournament he won last year, which will take place February 20-26.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
