'Still not ready': Carlos Alcaraz pulls out of second major amid lingering wrist injury
Two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of next month's tournament as he continues to battle a wrist injury.
The Spaniard injured his right wrist at the Barcelona Open last month and had already pulled out of Roland Garros, of which first round action begins on Sunday.
He had won the clay-court slam the last two years, and was hoping to become just the third player in the Open era to win three in a row.
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Carlos Alcaraz and his injured wrist. Getty
"My recovery is going well and I’m feeling much better, but unfortunately I'm still not ready to compete," Alcaraz said in a statement on social media.
Alcaraz started the year by winning the Australian Open to become the youngest man ever to win the career Grand Slam.
Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in both finals to clinch back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 2023 and 2024. He lost last year's final to Jannik Sinner – his first loss in a slam final – in another chapter of what shapes to be a generational rivalry.
"They are two truly special tournaments for me and I will miss them a lot," Alcaraz said of missing Wimbledon and the warm-up event at Queen's Club in London.
"We'll keep working to come back as soon as possible!"
Alcaraz' withdrawal could open up the draw for Aussie Alex De Minaur. At the Australian Open in January, De Minaur was playing the best tennis of his career before he was dismantled by Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
Alcaraz knocked de Minaur out of the Australian Open. Getty
The Demon is 0-6 in career head-to-head and has only ever won two sets against the world No.2.
Meanwhile, De Minaur's preparation for Roland Garros is back on-track, having beaten Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in the first round of the Hamburg Open, which ended a three-match losing streak.
After dropping the first set, De Minaur rallied to win the next two to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. He will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the round of 16 on Wednesday night.
