Carlos Alcaraz Misses The Barcelona Open Due To An Arm Injury

(CTN News) – Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz had been aiming to win the Barcelona Open for a third consecutive time when he pulled out of the tournament due to an injury to his right arm, according to the tournament’s organisers, on Sunday.

In the past few weeks, he has been battling the same injury, which has forced him to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters due to the same issue.

Despite his efforts until the very last minute, Alcaraz’s absence from the Barcelona Open was inevitable, as the tournament’s organizers stated in a statement.

Having clinched the Madrid Open in both of the last two editions of the event, Alcaraz now turns his attention to the Madrid Open, which is due to take place from April 24 to May 5.
Despite winning the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023, Alcaraz has yet to win the French Open, although his best performance at Roland Garros last year was a semi-final appearance.

Alcaraz, despite being seeded first in Barcelona, would have been granted a bye into the second round, a privilege that Rafael Nadal is not entitled to.

As a wildcard invitation, Nadal, 37, returns to the ATP Tour for the first time since he was sidelined in January by a hip injury.
In the time since his quarter-final exit at the Brisbane Open against Jordan Thompson, the 22-time Grand Slam champion has only played one match, an exhibition against Alcaraz. His ranking has plummeted to No. 646.

As a result of his injury suffered in Brisbane, Nadal has been forced to withdraw from the Australian Open, as well as from Doha and Indian Wells, where he had initially planned to make a comeback.

In the month of March, Barcelona Nadal made his only appearance since Brisbane in an exhibition match against Alcaraz in Las Vegas, during which observers noted some discomfort in his back.

The fact that this might be Nadal’s last year on tour makes him keen to avoid any additional setbacks in his clay court preparations as he tries to win the French Open for a record 15th time.

It is a great pleasure to be here, Barcelona is a place where I have experienced a great deal of happiness and where I have spent significant periods of my life,” Nadal said at Saturday’s draw ceremony.

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