A Nightmare for Carlos Alcaraz—What Happens Now? Will Jannik Sinner’s Rival Return Next Year?

Red alert for Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish tennis player has announced that he will not defend the title he won in 2025 at the Cincinnati Masters 1000, thereby postponing his official return to the court. In recent days, Alcaraz had posted videos of some training sessions in which he was trying to get back into the swing of things, but according to reports in the Spanish media, his wrist injury has not been fully resolved.

His return at the US Open is now in serious doubt, as is the rest of his season: the former world No. 1 may take an additional break to return in top form in 2027. By skipping Cincinnati, Alcaraz will lose the 1,000 points he earned last year; if he were to miss the US Open, he would lose 3,000 points. Alcaraz hasn’t played since Barcelona: his wrist injury forced him to miss the tournaments in Madrid and Rome, the French Open, and even Wimbledon. The Spaniard had never missed two consecutive Grand Slams in his career.

The organizers of the Cincinnati tournament released this statement: “Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open. We wish our 2025 champion a speedy recovery. We look forward to welcoming you back next year!”

Meanwhile, concerns have resurfaced regarding Jannik Sinner following medical tests in Milan on Tuesday. The examination, conducted by Dr. Volpi, Inter’s team doctor, was merely a routine check-up: his knee is not a cause for concern, and the tests had already been scheduled ahead of his departure for the United States and the final stretch of the season. In fact, on Sunday, Sinner will fly to Cincinnati, where he will return to the court for the first time since the Wimbledon final, which he won against Alexander Zverev.