ISLAMABAD/PARIS: US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz said on Friday that he would miss the Australian Open, the first grand slam of the season, after injuring his right leg during a training session.
The 19-year-old Spanish player, while taking to his Twitter handle, said that he got a leg injury through a chance due to an unnatural moment in training.
The world no one further said that he worked so hard for the Australian, but due to the injury, he would not be able to participate in the event, adding that he was optimistic and looking forward to participating in the 2024 Australian Open.
Australian Open
Withdrawal of Alcaraz from the event will promote the defending champion and 22-time major winner Rafael Nadal to the top seat at the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on January 16.
Meanwhile, the nine-time champion and 21-time Grand Slam title winner, Novak Djokovic, will grab a place in the top fours.
Carlos Alcaraz as world no-1
Alcaraz became the world’s youngest world no 1, since the creation of the ATP rankings in 1973 by winning his first Grand Slam tournament at the US Open in September 2022.
He also became the youngest player in history to finish the year as a top seed and the first outside of Djokovic, Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray to achieve this since Andy Roddick in 2003.
However, an abdominal rip forced him to retire in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters in November, forcing him to miss the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, won by Djokovic.
The former top seed Djokovic will join the Australian Open after being deported from the country last year over his refusal to be vaccinated.
Carlos Alcaraz, who will also be out of the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne next week, said in a statement recently that he was very much optimistic with new experiences in 2023.
In another statement, he said he was trying to push himself to a high level, focusing on recovering himself.
Last season, Alcaraz grabbed five titles, winning 57 times in 70 matches. He started in 2022 at number 32 in the world and made the most significant rise to finish top in 50 years of the rankings.
Most importantly, Carlos Alcaraz hit the giant-killing jackpot in Madrid last May when he became the only man to beat Nadal and Djokovic at the same clay-court event. In July, he reached to top five in the world and became the youngest man to do so since 2005.
Former world number one and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero believes that if Carlos Alcaraz maintains his fit, he can win 30 Grand Slam titles. APP/AFP
