The year 2026 is going to fully belong to Jannik Sinner as his greatest rival, Carlos Alcaraz, is missing several high-end tournaments after he suffered a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open. After withdrawing from the Madrid and Rome Masters and the French Open, the news just got worse.
Alcaraz, the ATP No. 2, who is dropping tons of points and by the time he returns might be much closer to No. 3 than No. 1, will miss Wimbledon, too. The player announced the withdrawal on his Instagram page.
The Spaniard wrote, "My recovery is going well, and I'm feeling much better, but unfortunately I'm still not ready to compete, which is why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen's and Wimbledon."
Carlos Alcaraz has announced he is withdrawing from 2026 Wimbledon
In his extended absence, Sinner hasn't lost and is gobbling up ranking points like candy. Not that Alcaraz was certainly going to defeat the in-form Italian, but he is seemingly the only player who can. He defeated Sinner in the final of Roland Garros last year in arguably the greatest tennis match ever, so Sinner would appear to have a clear path to the title this year.
The same can be said of Wimbledon, too, a major that Alcaraz won in 2023 and 2024, but lost to Sinner in the final in 2025. The saving grace for Carlos Alcaraz is that Jannik Sinner cannot win a Grand Slam this year. The Spaniard won the title at the Australian Open.
Furthermore, it is Alcaraz's history of being injured that could limit what his tennis career could have been. Yes, he is absolutely one of the best to ever pick up a racket, and is only 22 years old, but his long-term availability has to be a concern after already suffering so many various injuries.
He might want to skip the Barcelona Open in the future. Last year, Alcaraz hurt his adductor and missed the Madrid Masters. This year, he hurt his right wrist and missed much more time.
Tennis fans obviously want Carlos Alcaraz back on the court, and the player likely wants to be back, too, but he is approaching his wrist injury the correct way. He needs to take as much time off as he possibly can, as returning too quickly only risks him being hurt again. That might help Jannik Sinner, but it doesn't help the sport overall.
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