'Now I’m fully focused on recovery' – Carlos Alcaraz aiming for his comeback on court

Carlos Alcaraz, who withdrew from the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Sunday due to a right forearm injury, has returned to the ATP 500 tournament the next day to update fans on his recovery and hopes as the European clay season continues.

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, who missed last week’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters due to the same injury, highlighted his disappointment in losing the chance to participate in Barcelona, where he won the championship in 2022 and 2023. While he is hoping that he will be able to join in the Mutua Madrid Open, which begins on April 24.

According to ATP Tour during the Monday afternoon press conference, Carlos Alcaraz said, “I won’t be able to play in Barcelona, but I wanted to come to the tournament.” “I wanted to come and explain in my own words. This is a club I’ve spent a lot of my life at, I wanted to do it in person and talk about my current situation.

“The pain started in the first practice session in Monte-Carlo. After an hour my forearm was feeling particularly uncomfortable. At the time I didn’t think it would be anything important. My team and I treated it as well as possible, doing tests to see what the problem was. I couldn’t recover in time to play in Monte-Carlo so I returned home to see if, with recovery, days, practice, and patience, I would be able to arrive in Barcelona as fit as possible.”

My goal is to try and go to the Mutua Madrid Open - Carlos Alcaraz

However, Carlos Alcaraz wanted to retain his title at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona but due to his injury and arrival at the tournament earlier, he was not able to take part. As per ATP Tour Carlos Alcaraz further added, “I took a test on Saturday morning, which produced some pretty positive images.” “That gave me hope I could play in the tournament. But Sunday was the litmus test for us. It was the first day I hit forehands after the practice session in Monte-Carlo and it wasn’t as we expected. I could feel it again.

Meanwhile, it is yet unknown how much time it will take to recover he has set a target of making his return to court at Madrid’s Caja Magica which is going to start from next week. As per ATP Tour, he stated, “My feeling isn’t right, but it is what it is.” “Now I’m fully focused on recovery, and I have a little more time. My goal is to try and go to the Mutua Madrid Open, but at the moment nothing is certain. I was given specific recovery times and I’ve respected them, but I haven’t felt good. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.