World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz says he’s fully recovered from the thigh injury that disrupted his French Open title defense preparations as he gears up for a comeback at the Italian Open.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who owns four Grand Slam titles, missed the Madrid Open after hurting himself in the Barcelona Open final in April.
"I'm in good shape – 100% ready to start the tournament. I can't wait for tomorrow," Alcaraz said ahead of his opening match in Rome against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.
“I’m really happy to be here. It’s only my second time playing in Rome, so I’m excited.”
Alcaraz skipped last year’s tournament due to injury and has only played once at the Foro Italico, where he fell in the third round in 2023 to Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.
“Last year was even more difficult,” said Alcaraz of his injury-hit clay-court season in 2024, which nonetheless culminated in the Spaniard lifting the trophy at Roland Garros.
“This year, I couldn’t play Madrid. But I could play really good tournaments – Monte Carlo, Barcelona – good matches. I just tried to recover from the injury, which I wasn’t worried about at all.
“Right now I have confidence. The practices have gone well. Obviously, the first round in every tournament is never easy – you have to get used to the conditions, the tournament, the court, everything.”
“I think my level is in a good spot,” he added.
Headlines at the Rome event have been dominated by the return from a three-month doping suspension of Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz said he was happy to see his rival back in action and would relish facing the world No. 1 in the final.
“It is great for me, for tennis, for the fans to have him around again,” Alcaraz said. “We are on different sides of the draw. Hopefully, I’m going to meet him in the final.”
