Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury will now see him miss the rest of the clay court season, as he has confirmed his withdrawal from the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
Alcaraz made the announcement on social media as the wrist injury suffered at the Barcelona Open is more serious than he thought.
The Spaniard will miss months of action, with his next tournament appearance currently scheduled to be Queen’s in June.
Alcaraz has already lost ground in his race with Jannik Sinner for the world number one spot and now his quest to reach the summit will be even longer.
When Carlos Alcaraz can become world number one
Alcaraz is currently 440 ranking points behind Sinner on the ATP Tour, but that number could continue to grow depending on the Italian’s progress at the Madrid Open.
Sinner will also play the Italian Open and Roland Garros without Alcaraz, so he has relative safety at the summit of the ATP Tour.
Can anyone now stop Jannik Sinner from winning Roland Garros after Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal?
If yes, who?
Sinner is guaranteed to remain world number one until Wimbledon at the earliest, and he will only need to collect 710 ranking points at the Grand Slam to keep the top spot.
The Italian won Wimbledon last year so he will be defending 2000 ranking points at the legendary grass court event.
Sinner will need to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon in order to fend off Alcaraz as the world number one.
Jannik Sinner’s ATP Tour schedule without Carlos Alcaraz
Sinner surprised many by playing the Madrid Open, but he is clearly looking to become the first male player to win five Masters events in a row.
Sinner has won the Paris Masters, Indian Wells, the Miami Open, and the Monte-Carlo Masters in succession.
How worried are you about Carlos Alcaraz’s injury?
Carlos Alcaraz will miss Rome and Roland Garros…
The star is the heavy favourite to lift the Madrid Open, particularly as he will not play a top 20 player until the semi-final of the competition.
Following the Madrid Open, Sinner will head to his home tournament at the Italian Open, where he reached the final last year.
After the Rome tournament, Sinner will play Roland Garros as he looks to earn the Career Grand Slam in Paris.
Following Roland Garros, Sinner will likely head to the Halle Open for his first grass court event of the year, although that is yet to be confirmed.
