Home-crowd favorite Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open on Wednesday because of muscle injuries, saying he didn’t want to risk making things worse ahead of the French Open.
The third-ranked Spaniard said he has not fully recovered from the upper leg ailment that bothered him during the Barcelona Open final Sunday. He also said he has a left leg injury.
Alcaraz said he did “everything possible to play” but had to make the “tough decision” to withdraw after listening to his body and talking to doctors.
“I couldn’t practice the entire week and found out I had hamstring and groin injuries. I needed to listen to my body and make the right decision,” Alcaraz told reporters. “On Monday I’ll have more medical tests, and after that, we will have a better idea on how long I’ll be out.”
Alcaraz is a two-time champion in Madrid, having won in 2022 and 2023. He was the second seed this week and in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz needed treatment on his leg during his straight-sets loss to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final.
Alcaraz, who will turn 22 on May 5, won in Monte Carlo to start his clay-court campaign and was on a nine-match winning streak until the Barcelona final. He complained of having to play “so many matches and have so few days to rest.”
“It hurts me not to be able to play here in Madrid in front of my people, my friends and my family,” Alcaraz said.
He said the injuries should not be a problem heading into the French Open next month, where he is the defending champion. He won the Roland Garros final against Alexander Zverev, who leapfrogged the Spaniard to No. 2 in the world after winning in Munich last week.
The French Open main draw begins May 25.
“I expect to go back to court and start practicing in a couple of weeks. Rome [starting May 7] is still a possibility, but for sure I’ll be in Paris,” Alcaraz said. “It’s not an easy decision because Madrid is the first tournament I have ever been to as a young kid; it’s the most special place for me to play. But [prioritizing Roland Garros] was a big part of my decision to stop and recover properly.”
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz has a 24-5 record this year. In addition to Monte Carlo, he also won in Rotterdam on hard court in February.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
