Tennis News: Katie Boulter and Carlos Alcaraz

Great Britain takes on France in a Billie Jean King Cup tie this weekend and one player who is healthy enough to play and return to the British squad is Emma Raducanu. Raducanu has struggled mightily with injuries ever since winning the 2021 US Open. In 2023, she hardly played and had surgery on both wrists and one ankle. When healthy and in peak form, Raducanu is capable of playing with the best in tennis.

One player who is happy to have Raducanu back on the team is Katie Boulter. Boulter understands that her team will be underdogs against a French team led by Caroline Garcia and that potentially having a healthy Raducanu can change the outcome of the tie. Great Britain will also feature Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, and Francesca Jones, but none of those players seemingly have the high-end ability of a healthy Raducanu.

Leading up to the tie this weekend, Boulter told PA News that she was extremely happy to have Raducanu back, saying, "I’m very pleased. We’ve missed her. We love having her back. Obviously, the number one thing is that she’s healthy. I’ve always said it for myself and it’s my biggest wish for her as well is that she can stay as healthy as possible. We’re going to be welcoming her with open arms for sure."

Katie Boulter happy to have Emma Raducanu back and Carlos Alcaraz's rankings status

Now the hope is that Raducanu can remain healthy. She is 5-5 in 2024 so far and still ranked outside the top 300 but clearly capable of better outcomes. Boulter's play in the tie may have a bigger impact on who wins and who loses, however, as Boulter is playing fairly well and is 13-5 in 2024. She also reached a career-high ranking of 28 in April.

Speaking of rankings, Carlos Alcaraz could be due for a fall soon. This is because he is suffering from an injured pronator teres in his right arm. This is the forearm muscle that assists with forearm flexion. Without the ability to fully flex the forearm muscle, a tennis player could not consistently hit a ball with pace. Obviously, someone playing a high level of tennis needs to be able to power through the ball or their opponents would simply whip winners past them with ease.

One of the main ways to get over the injury Alcaraz has is to rest the arm. He was forced to withdraw from the Monte-Carlo Masters and he could be forced to miss the Barcelona Open next week as well. This is where Alcaraz's rankings fall could begin.

In 2023, the Spaniard won the Barcelona Open and the following Madrid Masters. By winning, he picked up 1,500 ranking points. He would have to win those events again to not lose any points. If he is forced to withdraw from either tournament, the points would fall off. This could mean that Alcaraz might fall to No. 4 on the ATP tour if he misses the events and No. 3 Daniil Medvedev plays and does well in Barcelona and Madrid.

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