Carlos Alcaraz Explains Reason Behind His Difficult Madrid Open Withdrawal

Friday, 25 April 2025 at 15:00

Updated at Friday, 25 April 2025 at 15:03

byErik Virostko

Carlos Alcaraz was forced to skip the 2025 Madrid Open, and following his withdrawal, the Spaniard explained why he had to make the decision.

Tennis players never want to skip tournaments, especially when they are played in their home country. That's something Alcaraz had to do this year, as he injured himself during the Barcelona Open, and that injury eventually forced him to withdraw from the Madrid Open.

Despite requiring a medical timeout, Alcaraz kept fighting in the Barcelona Open, but the injury was serious enough to keep him out of play for the following weeks.

Speaking about his withdrawal at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the Spanish capital, the 21-year-old player explained that he initially thought the injury was not serious.

"In the Barcelona final, I felt something in the left hamstring. I didn't think that it was that serious. I'm really disappointed that I'm not able to play here in Madrid. It is a place that I love playing in front of my people, in front of my family, my friends. They are not able to travel so much, so here is a special place for me."

"It was a really difficult situation, really difficult to decide, not [being] able to play. I think it is what it is. Tennis is really a demanding sport. Playing week after week, so many matches in a row, and you have to heal your body sometimes and make difficult decisions."

"I will come back stronger. I will come back with a lot of power for the next tournaments. I'm really disappointed [to] not be playing here in Madrid."

After the Barcelona Open final, Alcaraz spoke about how incredible Rafael Nadal had to be to achieve what he achieved, given how challenging it is to play every week on the clay courts. In Madrid, Alcaraz again explained the demanding aspect of clay-court tennis.

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"It was the first year I went really far in Monte-Carlo but it was also the first year I lost in the first match in Miami, so I had time to prepare for the clay season."

"But it is not easy. A different surface, coming from hard court to clay court and playing so many matches in a row and having no time to rest, is not easy. Tennis players have to take difficult decisions sometimes."

Alcaraz also spoke about when he plans to return from the injury break. His ambition is to be back on the court at the Italian Open in Rome, but if that won't be possible, he wants to play at Roland Garros.

"My plan is going to Rome. My mindset is to do everything it takes to be 100 per cent for Rome. I will do some tests at the beginning of next week just to see how it's improved and from that let's see how it's going to be the next days."