Carlos Alcaraz is finally back. The injury had forced him to miss both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, keeping him away from Grand Slam action since his Australian Open triumph in January. After four months on the sidelines with a right wrist injury sustained during his Barcelona Open campaign, the Spaniard confirmed on Thursday that he will return at the US Open , where he will defend the title he won last year.
This will be his first competitive tournament since April 14, when he played one match in Barcelona before withdrawing with a wrist problem. In 2022, despite serious concerns over his chronic foot problem, he returned to win the Australian Open and Roland Garros before reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals. In 2013, after nearly a year away, he returned to reach the Australian Open final and then won the remaining three major tournaments he played that season.
For everything Alcaraz has achieved in his young career, the question is understandable. But asking him to dominate New York immediately after four months away could be premature. And there is precedent for a great player returning from a long layoff and immediately producing something extraordinary. Rafael Nadal remains perhaps the most striking example. This time, however, the challenge is different. He is returning directly to a Grand Slam, without a competitive match to test the wrist under the pressure of a best-of-five contest. And perhaps that is the most intriguing part of Alcaraz’s return. The US Open has suddenly gone from being a tournament he needed to defend to one where he has a genuine opportunity to seize control of the season.
