Carlos Alcaraz was handed another major blow as he was forced to withdraw from the Barcelona Open with a wrist injury.
Alcaraz made a mistake by playing the Barcelona Open so soon after reaching the Monte-Carlo Masters final.
The Spaniard signed up for a hectic clay court schedule, but that will now likely be significantly reduced ahead of Roland Garros.
However, it should not be a surprise that Alcaraz’s clay court season has been halted as that has become a theme for the world number two over the past few years.
Carlos Alcaraz’s unlucky streak on clay continues
Alcaraz has tasted plenty of success during the clay court swing in his career, but he has suffered with a rocky history over the past four years.
Should Carlos Alcaraz have skipped the Barcelona Open? Did he make a mistake by playing it?
The Spaniard has collected 11 trophies on the surface, but he has been forced to miss at least one tournament every year on clay due to injury.
Carlos Alcaraz’s difficult time on the clay court swing
- 2022 – Withdrew from the Italian Open
- 2023 – Withdrew from the Monte-Carlo Masters
- 2024 – Withdrew from Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Italian Open
- 2025 – Withdrew from the Madrid Open, injured in Barcelona Final
Even last year, when Alcaraz won three of the four Masters titles on clay, he still missed the Madrid Open with injury.
Thankfully for Alcaraz, the star has never suffered with an injury bad enough to miss Roland Garros as the clay court season comes to an end.
Alcaraz has won Roland Garros in the past two years, which included his miraculous comeback against Jannik Sinner in the 2025 final.
The last person to defeat Alcaraz at Roland Garros was Novak Djokovic, when he defeated the Spaniard in the 2023 semi-final.
Carlos Alcaraz has a reason to be cheerful despite Barcelona withdrawal
Alcaraz will be at a low point right now following his withdrawal from his home tournament in Barcelona, but he’s been here before.
The Spaniard injured himself during his Barcelona Open final with Holger Rune last year, which forced him to withdraw from the following Madrid Open.
Should Carlos Alcaraz hire another coach after his recent results?
If so, who should he hire? 🤔
Alcaraz collected himself and returned to the ATP Tour bang in form, which helped him win the Italian Open and Roland Garros back-to-back.
Having returned to injury with aplomb before, the Spaniard will be hoping he can do the same yet again in 2026.
If Alcaraz misses the Madrid Open again, he will not have played the tournament since reaching the quarter-finals of the 2024 event.
The world number two was knocked out of the Masters event by Andrey Rublev, who beat the star in three sets.
