Greg Rusedski does not expect Carlos Alcaraz to be fit for Wimbledon this year after the Spaniard’s wrist injury knocked him out of the clay-court season and pushed back his return again. Alcaraz was hurt at the Barcelona Open, missed the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, and has already confirmed he will not play Roland Garros.
The former U.S. Open champion said Alcaraz had been tentatively pencilled in for a comeback at Queen’s Club and Wimbledon in June and July, but he now thinks that timetable is too ambitious. “With Carlos out, I don’t think Carlos is going to be back for Wimbledon this year,” Rusedski said, adding that the 20-year-old does not want to rush back and risk making the injury worse.
That matters because Alcaraz’s absence has already been felt across the ATP Tour. He won Queen’s last year by beating Jiri Lehecka in the London final and then reached the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Jannik Sinner. Grass has been one of the places where he has looked most dangerous, and his return was expected to be one of the main storylines of the summer.
Rusedski compared the situation to Juan Martin del Potro’s long-running wrist problems, saying Alcaraz would be wise not to follow the same path. “We always miss Carlos, but he’s doing the right thing. Health is your wealth. He doesn’t want to be like Juan Martin Del Potro, who came back too early, too many wrist injuries, never managed to fulfill his huge potential,” Rusedski said. He added: “What a great player we lost there for long periods of time” and, “And until he’s ready, he won’t be back.”
The ranking picture softens the blow slightly. Alcaraz is more than 6000 ranking points ahead of Alexander Zverev and would likely remain World No. 2 even if he missed the rest of the season, but that does little to reduce the immediate loss for the grass swing. He would also be defending a large haul of points on that surface, which makes the next few weeks important even from the sideline.
For now, the most likely outcome is that Wimbledon goes ahead without one of its biggest names. That would leave Queen’s and the All England Club waiting again for a player who has already shown he can win there, but cannot afford to hurry back before his wrist is ready.
