Alcaraz to defend US Open crown after four-month wrist layoff
Carlos Alcaraz will return to competitive tennis at the US Open, four months after a wrist injury sidelined him from the tour.
The defending champion has not played a competitive match since 14 April, when he injured his right wrist at the Barcelona Open. He has been dealing with tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the connective tissue that protects tendons. The withdrawal forced him out of the Madrid Open and then the Cincinnati Open, casting doubt on whether he would be ready for Flushing Meadows. On 20 August, the BBC confirmed his return.
The announcement itself had a playful twist. Alcaraz confirmed the news in a joint Instagram post with football transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, then wrote "here we go!" — Romano's famous catchphrase — on X, alongside an American flag emoji and a plane. A football journalist announcing a tennis comeback was not something anyone saw coming.
Alcaraz's 2026 season could hardly have started better. He won the Australian Open in January, becoming the youngest man to win all four Grand Slam titles — the sport's four biggest tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Then the wrist gave way in Barcelona, and everything stopped.
He may not wait until the main draw to get matches under his belt. Alcaraz could enter the revamped mixed doubles competition at the US Open, which runs the week before the singles event begins on Sunday, 30 August. Three wildcards — free entries that organisers hand out at their discretion — remain available. Last year, Alcaraz played the mixed doubles alongside Britain's Emma Raducanu, who is out of this year's tournament with injury.
The rankings picture has shifted during his absence. Jannik Sinner, who won Wimbledon in July, sits at world number one. Alexander Zverev, who won the French Open and finished runner-up at Wimbledon, has overtaken Alcaraz for the number two spot after Alcaraz could not defend his Cincinnati Open title. Sinner, though, will arrive in New York with no hard-court match time after withdrawing from Cincinnati with a knee injury.
For tennis fans, the prospect is a wide-open US Open with its top three players all carrying question marks. Alcaraz has not competed in over four months. Sinner has a knee concern and no competitive tune-up on the surface. Zverev is the one arriving with momentum, but Grand Slams have a habit of ignoring form charts.
The singles draw starts on 30 August at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Whether Alcaraz can find his rhythm quickly enough to defend his title is the question that will shape the tournament. He has done remarkable things before. But a wrist is a fragile thing for a player whose game is built on explosive shot-making, and 18 weeks without a competitive point is a long time at the top of the sport.
