All eyes are on Flushing Meadows as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz makes his much-awaited return. The Spanish star has been out for more than four months with a right wrist injury suffered during the clay-court season in Barcelona. He now returns to the hard courts without playing an official singles warm-up match, with Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou sharing his thoughts on Alcaraz’s chances at the US Open.
Carlos Alcaraz Remains the Man to Beat at US Open Despite Four-Month Layoff, Patrick Mouratoglou Says
After a strong start to the 2026 season, which included winning the Australian Open and becoming the youngest player to complete a Career Grand Slam, Alcaraz’s momentum was suddenly halted in April. He withdrew from the Barcelona Open after his first-round win because of right wrist inflammation.
The injury forced him to miss the rest of the clay and grass seasons, including Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as well as important hard-court warm-up events. Although Alcaraz has shared practice videos showing him hitting with his usual intensity, training is very different from playing a competitive match.
As the defending champion, he now faces the challenge of returning directly to best-of-five-set Grand Slam tennis without recent singles match experience. Alcaraz played two mixed doubles matches with Williams but lost in the quarterfinals.
However, coach Mouratoglou believes that despite the long absence, the seven-time Grand Slam champion remains the biggest contender and will be very difficult to beat.
“Even four months without playing a single official match, Carlos Alcaraz will still be the man to beat at this US Open,” Mouratoglou said on his Instagram Reel. “And trust me, it’s going to be very difficult to beat him. I don’t think that after one round we’ll know if Alcaraz will be able to win or not the US Open.”
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The French coach added that his chances of winning the title will not be clear after just one round and will depend on his consistency, especially with his serve and return.
“He will do some incredible shots because he always does. But is he able to return consistently, to serve consistently, to build the rallies and not rush and hit too many unforced errors? That will be the things that we really want to see. And the consistency throughout the match,” Mouratoglou pinpointed.
Alcaraz will face Roman Safiullin in the first round of the US Open. The Russian recently enjoyed a strong Wimbledon run, defeating João Fonseca before losing to Novak Djokovic in the fourth round. The US Open main draw begins on Sunday, August 30.
