Anything related to Carlos Alcaraz's return from a wrist injury he suffered in the first round of the Barcelona Open in April is pure speculation. The truth is that maybe not even the player or his team knows when he will come back.
The hope is that, after he recently decided to skip the Canadian Open, which begins on August 1, he will play the Cincinnati Masters, which starts on August 13. If he chooses to miss that tournament because of his injury, his playing at the US Open should be considered in doubt.
Some who cover the sport have mentioned on social media that Alcaraz could miss the rest of the year to fully recover from the wrist issue. After all, tennis would be better off not having Alcaraz play too soon and risk aggravating the injury. If that means he doesn't return before 2027, so be it.
Carlos Alcaraz's return to tennis still doesn't have a definite date
The Spaniard has posted on social media snippets of himself practicing. He isn't exactly doing exhausting work, but any workout is better than none. At least he is healthy enough to try to work his way back to the sport, even if it is nearly five months between Barcelona and his next match.
Alcaraz would have rust to shake off, so expectations should be tempered for him once he does return. Saying that, few will believe that the seven-time Grand Slam winner cannot immediately return and start taking trophies home from tournaments. He has been too good for too long to ever be fully dismissed.
In his absence, the ATP rankings have been transformed. Alcaraz was ranked No. 1 in early April, but by the time he returns in August, hopefully, he will likely rank No. 3 behind Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev. In fact, while Alcaraz has been out, Zverev has been ascending, winning the French Open and reaching the final of Wimbledon.
As far as future points, Carlos Alcaraz didn't play at the Canadian Open in 2025 either, citing fatigue. He will not have any points to drop there, but he won the Cincinnati Masters and then the US Open. If he isn't healthy enough to return the rest of the calendar year, he could plummet in the rankings.
The positive part is that the Spaniard is still only 23 years old and will have many years left to play high-level tennis. He does have an injury history to keep an eye on, but he's been able to succeed despite that. The future will likely be no different.
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