'No way' - Carlos Alcaraz might not play again this year after fresh injury setback

Greg Rusedski believes Carlos Alcaraz will struggle to play another tennis match this year after he was forced to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open due to his ongoing injury problems.

Alcaraz has missed four months of action since he sustained a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open back in April. The 23-year-old has been sidelined since he withdrew from his match against Tomáš Macháč, where he suffered severe right wrist tenosynovitis, which forced him to miss the rest of the clay-court season and the entirety of the grass-court season.

He was unable to defend his French Open title at Roland-Garros in June and withdrew from Wimbledon, where he finished runner-up last year. Alcaraz was scheduled to participate in the upcoming Cincinnati Open to pave the way for a possible Grand Slam return at the US Open, but will no longer be involved in the tournament.

From his own experience, Rusedski believes the setback could impact him for the remainder of the year and believes there is now no way the 23-year-old will participate in the final slam of the season.

"He can no longer play in the US Open. There's no way he'll participate if he misses the Cincinnati tournament," Rusedski said on his 'Off Court' podcast.

"Everything seemed to be going well, and then we received this news. If it were just a little inflammation, a minor problem, he'd already be recovered. It's something a bit more serious. We don't know if he has a tear, if it's something more serious, if he's had surgery. Who knows what happened?"

Alcaraz should not play again this year

While there is a clear desire from Alcaraz to return to competitive action as soon as possible, Rusedski believes the seven-time major champion should avoid any unnecessary risks and accept that he won't return until 2027.

He added: "The only ones who know what's going on are Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of his team, but this is taking much longer than we thought. I think he should take all the time he needs, even if it means missing the rest of the year and then returning in 2027. I think this could take a little longer and maybe we won't see him play this year.

"You have to be 110% sure about your body, make sure everything is okay regarding the risk, because risks are difficult to manage. So, in my opinion, he won't play the US Open. He won't play in Cincinnati, so that's it. Will we see him when the indoor season arrives? Who knows?"