Carlos Alcaraz, the home-crowd favorite, withdrew from the Madrid Open on Thursday due to muscle injuries, prioritizing his recovery ahead of the French Open.
The third-ranked Spaniard revealed he hasn't fully recovered from an upper leg injury sustained during the Barcelona Open final last Sunday and also has a left leg injury.
Alcaraz, a two-time Madrid champion (2022 and 2023), was set to make his first appearance at the Caja Magica on Saturday.
He was seeded second and drawn in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz said he did "everything possible to play" but made the "tough decision" to withdraw after listening to his body and consulting with doctors.
"Madrid is one of the special tournaments for me," Alcaraz said. "It’s a tournament I enjoy, and I get to play in front of my fans. It’s one of the first tournaments I attended when I was a kid. These types of decisions are not easy to make, but sometimes you have to think about your health and what is important. A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam. If I play here, I could make the injuries worse and be out for several months, and that’s not worth it."
He expressed confidence about recovering in time for next month’s Roland Garros, where he is the defending champion. He won last year’s final against Alexander Zverev, who recently overtook Alcaraz to No. 2 in the world after winning in Munich last week.
Alcaraz also said he would try to play in Rome ahead of the French Open, though he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to compete.
Alcaraz required treatment on his leg during his straight-set loss to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final. He had not practiced in Madrid yet and said earlier this week that he felt "fine" but was waiting on medical test results to determine if he would play.
The 21-year-old (he will turn 22 on May 5) began his clay-court campaign with a win in Monte Carlo and was on a nine-match winning streak until the Barcelona final. He later felt pain in a muscle in his left leg.
Alcaraz lamented having to play "week after week, so many matches in a row" but vowed to "come back stronger."
The four-time Grand Slam champion has a 24-5 record this year. In addition to Monte Carlo, he also won in Rotterdam on hard court in February.
