Carlos Alcaraz suffered a heartbreaking end to his clay-court season after sustaining a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open earlier this month. The Spaniard’s injury is serious enough to rule him out of the French Open next month.
As the reigning champion at Roland-Garros, Alcaraz will lose crucial ranking points in his world No. 1 battle with rival Jannik Sinner. As the 22-year-old begins his rehab, reports indicate when he could return to the court.
Possible Carlos Alcaraz Return Date Shared By Journalist
Alcaraz is said to be eyeing a return to action at the 2026 Queen’s Club Championships. This is being reported by Spanish journalist Ángel García Muñiz, who adds that the player’s goal is to be 100% fit in time for Wimbledon.
Muñiz added that the injury is an inflammation of the tendon sheath on his right wrist and not a tear. He further revealed that the Spaniard remains in good spirits and is determined to return stronger.
“Nadal had a similar one and lasted exactly two months,” Muñiz claimed.
“The injury is not as serious in the sense that it is an inflammation of the tendon sheath. It is true that it is a painful injury, but it does not appear to be dangerous. It is not something to say, ‘I have a tear,’ like happened to Rafa. It’s not a tear of the tendon.”
This is not the first time Alcaraz’s clay-court season has been hampered by injury. He struggled with a forearm injury in 2024 and a leg injury in 2025 but recovered in time to win the French Open in both years.
As a result of his wrist injury, Alcaraz will miss his first Grand Slam since the 2023 Australian Open. He missed that tournament due to a hamstring injury.
Alcaraz will now be switching his focus to the grass-court season. He won the Queen’s Club Championships last year after defeating Jiří Lehečka in the final. He followed that up by making the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Sinner in four sets.
The 2026 season so far has been full of ups and downs for Alcaraz, who started the year by triumphing at the Australian Open and completing the career Grand Slam. He then won in Doha before suffering his first defeat of the year in the semifinals at Indian Wells.
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A shocking early exit followed at the Miami Open before Alcaraz made the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters. The Spaniard lost to Sinner in straight sets in the final and also lost his world No. 1 ranking.
Alcaraz then competed at the Barcelona Open and won his first-round match. But an injury suffered during the match forced him to withdraw from the tournament. The injury turned out to be more serious than initially thought, and Alcaraz now faces an extended spell on the sidelines.
