Carlos Alcaraz’s recent injury has threatened to derail his entire clay-court season and, in doing so, leave the door wide open for total Jannik Sinner dominance.
After all, the Spaniard excelled last season in the absence of his great rival, but has suffered a tough start to the clay-court campaign this year, losing in their first meeting of 2026 in the Monte Carlo final.
And, to make matters worse, in his haste to play in Barcelona, Carlos Alcaraz has now suffered a wrist injury that has already ruled him out of Madrid and could still force him out of Rome and Roland Garros.
Sinner, meanwhile, in an effort to avoid that same fate, took a week off and could also join the 22-year-old in skipping Madrid as well.
Brad Gilbert, speaking on the Big T podcast, has now explained why the respective reaction of the world’s top two players actually makes Rafael Nadal’s legacy even greater.
Brad Gilbert reacts to Carlos Alcaraz’s latest injury
The American, who is most famed for his time coaching Andre Agassi and Coco Gauff, began by discussing Alcaraz’s absence in Madrid.
“Mutiny in Madrid,” he began. “Second year in a row, Alcaraz gets hurt at Barcelona.”
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Gilbert then explained what he would have done, had he been in the coaching team of Alcaraz: “You know, the quick turnaround from Monte Carlo, you know, where it’s a one-week tournament, you’ve got to play five matches in five days. And if you’re in Alcaraz’s team, you’ve got to err on the side of caution.
“The wrist issue, look at a player from a few years ago, Dominic Thiem, when he hurt his wrist was never the same after surgery. Delpo, another one, major wrist problems.
“So he’s had lots of matches, so maybe even if he’s not 100%, you don’t even play Rome, and you get ready and do everything you can to be ready for Roland Garros. Cause that’s first and foremost.
“And remember, last spring, Novak didn’t play a tournament at all, and he still made the semis of the French.”
Gilbert then added, in reference to Nadal: “It just shows you how amazing what Rafa was able to do. So many times to be able to go from Monte Carlo to Barcelona, and do the entire clay swing, and numerous times, he swept them all, you know, like at the craps table, like, when you go seven up, all the chips, that was, like, even more amazing that, you know, how he’s able to sweep the table.
“But the game is so physical now, and you really have to feel for the tournament that two years in a row, obviously, they’re losing the biggest Spanish star.”
Why people are forgetting just how good Rafael Nadal was on clay
Whilst people have rushed to praise Alcaraz’s form on clay over the past few years, as a two-time Roland Garros champion as well as a winner in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, this all pales in comparison to what Nadal was able to achieve on this surface.
The King of Clay, as he has become affectionately and appropriately dubbed, holds the record for most titles won at any event. That just so happens to be the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, where he is a 14-time champion.
What would have happened if Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played at the same time as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal?
However, his dominance was not reserved just to the Parisian clay.
He also won 11 titles in Monte Carlo, eight of which came in consecutive years, five titles in Madrid, 12 more in Barcelona and ten in Rome.
Nadal would win clay-court title after clay-court title and not bat an eyelid, despite suffering from various injury concerns throughout his career.
Perhaps the most incredible statistic from his playing days was the fact that he retired having won more titles on this surface (63) than he lost matches (51).
