Carlos Alcaraz was ruled out from competing at this year's Italian Open in Rome, but he is already preparing for his return at Roland Garros.
Alcaraz has had a rollercoaster year marred by multiple injuries and has already lost five matches this season. By contrast, he lost three matches at this stage last season and had lifted four titles.
The Spaniard ended his long title drought in Indian Wells this year, defeating Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev in back-to-back matches to win the tournament. But that remains the only major flashpoint of an otherwise tricky year.
Alcaraz's injury troubles began at the Rio Open, where he retired after only two games in his opening match. He slipped on the court and hurt his ankle. The 21-year-old's Golden Swing was largely unproductive. Prior to Brazil, he lost in the semifinals of the Buenos Aires 250.
Although Alcaraz recovered in time to play the blockbuster Netflix Slam exhibition against Rafael Nadal and win at Indian Wells, a new injury to his forearm cropped up before the European clay swing.
Despite traveling to Monaco, Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament, citing additional recuperation time. He couldn't play in Barcelona, which is an important tournament for him, and he stated that he cried when he learned that he wouldn't compete in the ATP 500, which he had won in the last two years.
Alcaraz managed to make it to Madrid, which was the second ATP 1000 on clay. But he was clearly not fully fit and surrendered his title defense in the quarterfinal stage to Andrey Rublev.
This week, the ATP made its next traditional stop in Rome, but sadly, the World No. 3 withdrew ahead of schedule, stating that he is still feeling "discomfort" in the arm.
That means Alcaraz will head to Roland Garros, having played a single warm-up tournament. In the meantime, he has been putting in the hard yards in training and shared a video to his followers on Instagram with the caption, "Working on my way back as soon as possible."
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