Carlos Alcaraz’s comeback is unsurprisingly all anyone can talk about at the minute. This is the case for two reasons.
Firstly, more and more information seems to be appearing about his physical state. It feels like we’re closer than ever to actually seeing him back on court, even in practice, preparing for his return.
And secondly, the current state of the ATP has made his absence feel heavier than ever. Tennis needs him back in action.
Fortunately, most of what we are hearing is positive.
Rennae Stubbs, speaking on the latest iteration of her podcast, has now added to this feeling.
Rennae Stubbs reveals the advice she has given to Carlos Alcaraz
She began by revealing: “Word on the street is that he is going to try and play Cincinnati.
“If that is the case, if, if, if… I can’t imagine he would have gone back to Spain. I would imagine he would centre himself here on a hard court somewhere and practise before Cincinnati.
Rate Carlos Alcaraz’s chances of defending his US Open title with barely any warm-up 😬
“It will be a great relief to tennis fans around the world to see him back playing.”
The Aussie then revealed that she has exchanged a few messages with the Spaniard on social media, adding: “Every now and again, he does respond to me on Instagram.
“When he was hitting balls, I did say it was great to see him back, and he said, ‘Hopefully, soon I will be hitting it harder’, and that was at the end of June.”
Stubbs then concluded by sharing the advice she has offered to the 23-year-old, who recently dropped to number three in the world rankings.
She claimed: “I did write to him and said I did have a wrist injury for seven months and I said [to him] please take your time because it’s not an injury you want to f*** around with, and if it is sore in any way you shouldn’t even try and play anymore.
“I want to err on the side of you and be like maybe he is taking his time and it’s probably a good idea, but if not, his fitness will be good, because you can do anything you want with a wrist injury to a certain degree.
“He won’t be lifting anything above his head, but certainly his legs will have been worked hard, so physically he should be okay.”
This came before Jimmy Connors offered some advice of his own to Alcaraz about his recovery in the latest edition of his podcast.
The latest report on Carlos Alcaraz’ fitness
Since Stubbs’ claims, further reports have emerged regarding Carlos Alcaraz’s fitness, as published by La Verdad de Murcia.
They corroborate her earlier claim about the Cincinnati Open being his desired return event, where he is the defending champion.
| Event | Performance in 2025 | Performance in 2026 | Ranking points lost |
| Barcelona Open | Final | Round of 16 [ret] | 255 |
| Italian Open | Winner | Absent | 1000 |
| French Open | Winner | Absent | 2000 |
| Queen’s | Winner | Absent | 500 |
| Wimbledon | Final | Absent | 1200 |
| Cincinnati Open | Winner | Tbc | – |
In fact, the tournament is actively rallying for him to compete, even if he is far from the required physical level needed to actually challenge for the title once again.
However, that is also his intention as well.
As part of their comeback plan, Alcaraz will travel to Cincinnati with the intention to compete, well aware of this simple fact. His participation is not guaranteed, but he is expecting to ‘not be at his optimal physical level’.
