Alcaraz’s unfortunate wrist injury suffered at the Barcelona Open has sent his ATP Tour season into a spiral.
The Spaniard was forced out of his home tournament with the injury and it also caused him to miss the Madrid Open on home soil for the second game running.
The World No. 2 will not be competing at the Italian Open or Roland Garros, with his time on the European clay court swing effectively over before it even started.
Alcaraz has not confirmed exactly when he will return to the sport, with speculation covering everything from the grass court season to the start of the 2027 campaign.
In Cope Murcia, Spanish journalist Angel García has been far more positive about when fans could be seeing the return of the 2026 Australian Open champion.
“With conservative treatment, which I know is the case, Carlos is going to recover from the injury and become himself again, then so be it, whenever that happens.
“I do have hope, I’ll say it already, and I think it’s a message that will excite our audience. I think he can make it not only to Wimbledon, but also to Queen’s beforehand as preparation. In other words, that in about a month and a half, Carlos might be back playing tennis again.”
Alcaraz has, of course, been here before. The Spaniard suffered an injury during his Barcelona Open final in 2025 against Holger Rune, which forced him out of the Madrid Open.
However, the Spaniard was able to return for the Italian Open and Roland Garros last year, both of which saw him lift the trophy at the expense of Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz will be delighted if he can return for the grass court season as he has unfinished business following his appearances on the surface in 2025.
The World No. 2 won Queen’s at a canter last season, but he was defeated by Sinner in the final. That brought an end to his hopes of producing a threepeat at Wimbledon, having won the tournament in 2023 and 2024.
Alcaraz has a sensational record on grass, so he will be itching to return to his most fruitful surface.
The only player to defeat Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s is Jack Draper, who knocked the Spaniard out of the second round of the 2024 competition.
The Spaniard has a 35-4 record on grass, which equates to an incredible 90% win rate on the summer surface. That has helped him lift Queen’s and Wimbledon twice apiece and it is overwhelmingly his best surface by winning rate.
Alcaraz has, of course, played far more on clay and hardcourts, but he has always looked at home on the grass of Wimbledon and Queen’s.
In 2023, Alcaraz racked up a 12-0 record on grass by winning Queen’s and Wimbledon back-to-back, so he will be hoping Garcia’s prediction is correct.
