Alcaraz pulls out of Cincinnati Open, extending wrist-injury layoff and clouding US Open defence

The withdrawal

Carlos Alcaraz will not defend his Cincinnati Open title, tournament organisers confirmed on Tuesday night. The 23-year-old Spaniard has been sidelined since 14 April, when a right wrist problem surfaced during his first-round win over Otto Virtanen at the Barcelona Open. Medical evaluations later diagnosed the condition as tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the tendon sheath. The Masters 1000 event, which runs from 13 to 23 August, had been pencilled in as his comeback tournament ahead of the US Open.

“We know Carlos is doing everything he can to get back to playing tournaments as soon as possible.”

Alcaraz won last year's edition after world No. 1 Jannik Sinner retired from the final after five games. This time the roles are reversed: Sinner is expected to return in Cincinnati after skipping Montreal, while Alcaraz remains absent. The withdrawal means Alcaraz will lose the 1000 ranking points he earned in Ohio a year ago and slip from No. 2 to No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. His season record stands at 22-3 on the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

The injury timeline

The trouble began in mid-April on the Barcelona clay. What was initially described as a short-term issue turned into an extended absence that has now kept the seven-time Grand Slam champion out of competition for nearly four months. He missed the entire European clay swing after Barcelona (Madrid, Rome), then the French Open, where he was the defending champion. The grass-court season followed and he was absent from Wimbledon as well. Cincinnati now becomes the sixth tour-level tournament he has skipped since the injury.

Social-media signals

Recent posts on his social channels had raised hopes of an imminent return. Videos showed him hitting at high intensity, the brace that had protected his right wrist no longer visible. Practice-session footage suggested clean ball-striking and sharp movement, leading many to believe he would be ready for the Ohio hard courts. The gap between training and match play, however, proved too wide. The wrist remains a delicate area for a player whose game depends on explosive racquet-head speed, and accelerating the timeline risked a longer setback.

US Open outlook

Alcaraz is still on the entry list for the US Open, the season's final major, which begins on 30 August in New York. He won the title at Flushing Meadows last year and would be the defending champion. Returning at a Grand Slam event after a four-month competitive break, with best-of-five-set matches from the opening round, is a daunting prospect. Several outlets, including La Repubblica and 20minutes, described his participation as increasingly uncertain. No announcement has been made about his status, and the decision may come closer to the tournament's start date.

The rankings and the field

The 1000-point forfeit will drop Alcaraz below Alexander Zverev in the ATP rankings. Zverev, currently No. 3, is set to gain the spot without needing to take the court in Cincinnati. Meanwhile Sinner, who faced scrutiny for skipping Montreal, is on the Cincinnati entry list and is expected to arrive in the United States on Sunday. Reports from Il Fatto Quotidiano note that Sinner underwent knee checks in Milan but that the issue is not a concern. The Italian is the top seed for the US Open lead-up, and with Alcaraz absent, the Cincinnati draw opens significantly. Qualifying begins on Thursday and the main draw starts on 13 August. Alcaraz's last official match remains that 14 April victory in Barcelona; the sport's youngest superstar will have to wait a little longer for the next one.