Carlos Alcaraz raised eyebrows by choosing the US Open as his comeback tournament, with fans and experts questioning his decision to return directly to best-of-five-set competition after nearly five months on the sidelines.
The Spaniard, however, has arrived in New York determined to make his comeback count while keeping his primary objective of leaving the tournament healthy. During his pre-tournament press conference, Alcaraz opened up about trusting his team while continuing to navigate doubts surrounding his recovery and return to competition.
Carlos Alcaraz Returns to Action at the 2026 US Open
On Tuesday, August 25, Alcaraz returned to Arthur Ashe Stadium for his first competitive stint in four and a half months, teaming up with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles event. The star-studded duo won their opening match but suffered defeat in their second outing later that same day.
Alcaraz understandably looked a little rusty, having not competed since suffering a right wrist injury during the first round of the Barcelona Open in April.
Explaining his decision to compete in New York, the defending champion said, “I need competition. I need to come here to practice with these guys to feel the competition once again, and this is a real test, but I’m just feeling great.”
In 2024, Carlos Alcaraz dealt with a lingering right forearm injury that forced him to withdraw from the Monte-Carlo Masters. He returned to action at the Madrid Open wearing heavy strapping on his forearm, which led the Spaniard to question his physical condition. He subsequently pulled out of the Italian Open before receiving the green light from his team to compete at the French Open. He went on to win the tournament.
Alcaraz said the experience taught him to trust his team, something he believes will help him build that same trust this time around. “I think that injury helped me a lot to know right now that it’s all in my head. I’ve just got to trust my team. I’ve got to trust my people that tell me that it’s going to be fine.”
“With the practices that I’ve made so far, it’s been all good. So just trying to stay away from that fear, and I’m playing normally,” he added.
The 23-year-old revealed that the uncertainty surrounding his recovery and the repeated delays to his return weighed heavily on him mentally. “Once I just started to practice a little bit, I didn’t know when I’m going to start. Those thoughts are really difficult to deal with because I don’t know if I’m going to be ready for Cincinnati for the US Open or I’m going to miss the whole American swing.”
“Finally, here we are. My goal was to try to be healthy as soon as possible and try not to miss more competitions. I would say that intrusive thoughts were the most difficult things to deal with in this process.”
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Alcaraz missed two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000 events while recovering from his injury. He would now hope to gradually rediscover his best form as he begins his title defense, with an eighth Grand Slam title and a third US Open crown in his sights. He starts his campaign against a familiar opponent, Roman Safiullin, on Monday, August 31.
