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Tennis’s biggest star will miss the sport’s most important clay tournament.
Men’s world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz announced Friday he will miss the French Open due to injury. Alcaraz, 22, has been dealing with a right wrist injury that also forced him to bow out of tournaments in Madrid and Barcelona.
“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros as we wait to evaluate the progress so we can decide when to return to the court,” Alcaraz wrote on Instagram. “This is a difficult time for me, but I am sure we will come out of it stronger.”
The announcement comes a year after Alcaraz won his second consecutive French Open title, outlasting current world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in a 5-hour-29-minute match, a longest final ever at Roland-Garros.
Alcaraz has had an up-and-down season that started with him winning the 2026 Australian Open in February, making him the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam—winning all four Grand Slam tournaments at least once. After winning again in Qatar, the Spaniard lost in the semifinals at Indian Wells before getting upset by Sebastian Korda in the third round of the Miami Open.
He lost to Sinner at the final of Monte-Carlo earlier this month, after which he talked about prioritizing his health but said he wanted to play the full clay season.
“If I’m going to skip one, I will skip one tournament,” Alcaraz said. “If my body stays healthy, I’m going to do whatever it takes to be healthy and take care of my body. If I don’t have any problems, I will play everything on clay.”
Alcaraz’s 2026 withdrawal opens the door for Sinner to secure a career Grand Slam as the French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament he has yet to win. If Sinner can make a run in Paris, he would be the fourth youngest man to win a career Grand Slam, behind Alcaraz, Rod Laver, and Rafael Nadal.
The door also opens for Novak Djokovic to make a run at a record 25th Grand Slam title or for an American man to try to end a Grand Slam drought that dates back to 2003.
Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last nine Grand Slam tournaments.
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