Due to a Leg Injury, World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz Will Not Compete in the Australian Open

After suffering an injury to his right leg during training, US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz announced on Friday that he will not compete in the Australian Open, the opening Grand Slam event of the season.

The young Spaniard, who is only 19 years old, explained how he got injured during exercising by writing on his Twitter account, “I picked up an injury through a random, unnatural movement in training.” The player who holds the number one spot in the global rankings continued, “I’d worked so hard to reach to my best level for Australia but regrettably I won’t be able to participate.”

“Even though it’s difficult, I have to stay positive, get better, and look to the future. We look forward to seeing you in the 2024 Australian Open.”

Due to Alcaraz’s withdrawal, fellow Spaniard and defending champion Rafael Nadal will be elevated to the number one seed for the upcoming Australian Open, which will begin on January 16 in Melbourne. Nadal has won 22 major titles during his career.

The nine-time champion and winner of a record 21 Grand Slam singles titles, Novak Djokovic, will be seeded among the top four players in the tournament.

This will imply that he will not be able to compete against his long-time adversary Nadal until at the earliest the semifinals.

Djokovic is going to play in the Australian Open again, despite the fact that he was kicked out of the nation last year because he refused to be vaccinated.

When Alcaraz won his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in September of 2017, he became the youngest player in the history of the ATP rankings, which were established in 1973. This distinction stands to this day.

After that, he became the youngest player in the annals of tennis to end the year on top of the rankings, and he was the first player not named Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, or Andy Murray to accomplish this feat since Andy Roddick in 2003.

However, he was forced to retire from the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters in November due to an abdominal tear. As a result of this, he was unable to compete in the season-ending ATP Finals, which were won by Novak Djokovic.

In addition, Alcaraz was had to miss the finals of the Davis Cup.

Alcaraz, who will also be absent from the Kooyong Tennis Classic in Melbourne the following week, acknowledged not long ago that the year 2023 will bring him a variety of new experiences.

“The pressure is something for which I need to mentally prepare myself. Everyone, including the players, is going to be looking at me, so I’m going to have to ensure that I’m ready for the spotlight when it comes my way “He explained it at an exhibition event that took place in Abu Dhabi a month ago, where he ended up losing to top 10 competitors Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.

He stated, “Probably it’s going to help me a little bit to try not to think about the people, the expectations, and the ranking, and that sort of thing.” “Probably it’s going to help me a little bit to try not to think about the people.”

“I’m just going to try to get a better understanding of myself while simultaneously elevating my game to a higher level. Right now, I’m concentrating on myself and getting back to my previous level.”

Alcaraz has participated in the Australian Open on two separate occasions. In 2021, he advanced to the second round after advancing through qualification, but in 2018, he was eliminated in the round of 32 by Matteo Berrettini after a five-set match.

“We are so sorry that we will not be able to catch up with you this year, @carlosalcaraz. I hope that you make a speedy recovery. I hope to see you on the court again soon, “on Friday, you tweeted about the Australian Open.

During the previous campaign, Alcaraz was victorious 57 times out of 70 matches, which enabled him to win five crowns.

He began the year 2022 ranked 32 in the world, but he achieved the most significant ascent in the history of the rankings to finish first.

In May, Alcaraz hit the giant-killing jackpot at Madrid by becoming the only guy to defeat both Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event. He did this by becoming the only man to accomplish this feat.

After that, he became the youngest guy since 2005 to enter the top five of the global rankings in the month of July when he did so.

His coach, the former number one player in the world Juan Carlos Ferrero, thinks that if Alcaraz maintains his fitness level, he has the potential to win 30 Grand Slam titles.