After more than four months on the sidelines, Carlos Alcaraz is back and he is hitting the ball and winning like nobody’s business.
The 23-year-old Spaniard has made a stunning return to competitive tennis, reaching the 2026 US Open quarterfinals. Alcaraz’s injury setback began at the Barcelona Open, where he suffered a serious right-wrist injury during his first-round match against Finland’s Otto Virtanen.
Despite feeling pain, he battled through and won 6–4, 6–2, but tests later showed that the injury was worse than expected. He was forced to miss several big tournaments, including the French Open and Wimbledon, as he focused on his recovery.
After 139 days away from competitive tennis, Alcaraz finally returned at the US Open on August 31, defeating Roman Safiullin 6–4, 6–4, 6–4. He followed that with wins against Jaime Faria, Wu Yibing and Tommy Paul to book his place in the quarterfinals.
The comeback continues as Alcaraz now faces Ben Shelton in the US Open quarterfinals. Alcaraz has the upper hand with a perfect 3–0 record, winning all three of their previous meetings.
He thrashed Shelton 6–3, 7–6(7–3) at the 2023 Canadian Open, followed by a 6–4, 6–4 victory at the 2024 Laver Cup. Their most recent meeting was at the 2025 French Open, where Alcaraz won a tough four-set battle 7–6(10–8), 6–3, 4–6, 6–4.
