Tennis has not felt the same without Carlos Alcaraz active on the tour.
The sport desperately misses his magical shot-making, charismatic demeanour and history-making quality. In his absence, few aside from Jannik Sinner have really taken full advantage.
Naturally, Alexander Zverev will count himself the biggest winner, having finally won that Grand Slam title he had been craving for so long.
However, an expiry date has finally been put on these opportunities afforded by Carlos Alcaraz’s injury.
That is because, after months of relatively little information on his recovery, we at last have a solid timeframe on when his return can be expected.
Carlos Alcaraz’s expected first tournament back from injury
Fear spread across numerous tennis media outlets when it was confirmed that Alcaraz would not be playing at the Canadian Open.
His absence from the tournament’s entry list had many scrambling, as it was expected that, after Wimbledon, the 23-year-old would be back playing again.
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Seemingly, the wrist injury that has already forced him to miss so many events will not be healed in time.
Rushing back would obviously be a foolish decision, but the sport is craving his return nonetheless.
Fortunately, as reported by ORM Deportes, it has now been confirmed that Alcaraz is targeting the Cincinnati Open as the expected event to make his comeback.
In fact, it is stated that the Canadian Open was never a realistic target.
Alcaraz has already missed Roland Garros and Wimbledon through injury.
The Grand Slam impact that Carlos Alcaraz’s absence has had on men’s tennis
There’s no denying that Alcaraz’s absence has left a huge power vacuum on the ATP Tour.
After all, whilst Sinner served his ban last year, it really felt like the Spaniard won almost everything on offer during the clay-court season, even thriving upon his return.
And yet, with the roles reversed in 2026 and Alcaraz instead forced out through injury, Sinner’s dominance has not quite been so pronounced.
Yes, he did win every Masters 1000 title on offer, but his second-round exit at Roland Garros saw him stumble when it really mattered.
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This allowed Zverev to go on to win his maiden major title.
Now, at Wimbledon, it really feels like the chance for another shock winner, whether that be Zverev again or even Djokovic, is emerging.
Had Alcaraz been fit and present, there is no chance he would have allowed this to happen.
His dominance on these two surfaces in recent years has been overwhelming, with only Sinner really inflicting regular defeats on him.
The bulk of the ATP Tour have been given their chance to shine with the former world number one out for so long, and now have a date for when that opportunity will end.
