Carlos Alcaraz sprained his ankle just two days before the start of the US Open, suffering a serious injury shock.
The Spanish world number three was training for the last Grand Slam tournament in 2024, which begins on Monday, when his right leg gave way.
Alcaraz immediately dropped to a crouch and then cautiously walked to the bench. The 21-year-old was frustrated as he put weight on his right leg, and his team was paying close attention.
After taking his seat, Alcaraz held his injured ankle before staring at the ground and shaking his head. He then reportedly stopped his workout and left the field.
The injury occurred during a routine attempt to play a backhand shot, but could have serious consequences in the coming weeks.
Carlos Alcaraz sprained his ankle before the US Open in New York and suffered a serious injury
The 21-year-old, who won here in 2022, is the bookmakers’ favorite for this year’s US Open after victories at Wimbledon and the French Open.
Preparations for this tournament were not smooth either for world number one Jannik Sinner. Sinner had to reject allegations that he had received special treatment after avoiding a ban at the beginning of the year despite failing two doping tests.
The Italian became the centre of controversy after it was revealed that he tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Clostebol twice in March.
Some of Sinner’s teammates reacted angrily to the news, saying there was one rule for the world’s best players and another rule for everyone else.
Sinner stressed that he would “always respect these anti-doping rules” and denied that he had been treated as a special case. “Every player who tests positive has to go through the same process. There is no shortcut, there is no different treatment,” he said.
After sitting down, Alcaraz held his ankle before staring at the floor and shaking his head
