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World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz to miss Australian Open with injury
Alcaraz said that he has been injured "through a chance, unnatural movement in training" and would miss the first Grand Slam of the year.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of the Australian Open due to an injury of his right leg. The 19-year-old Spaniard said on Friday that on social media that he got hurt "through a chance, unnatural movement in training" and won't be able to take part in a warm-up event in Kooyong and the year's first Grand Slam as well.
The Australian Open begins on January 16 at Melbourne Park. The draw is next Thursday. Alcaraz won the US Open last September and moved to the top of the ATP rankings. That allowed him to become the youngest man to finish a season at No. 1 since the computerised men's tennis rankings began a half-century ago. With Alcaraz out, No. 2 and 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal — the defending champion in Australia — will move up to No. 1 in the seedings for the hard-court tournament.
“When I was at my best in preseason, I picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training. This time it's the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg,” said Alcaraz in the statement he released on social media.
“I'd worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won't be able to play the Care A2+ Kooyong or the Australian Open. It's tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward. See you in 2024 @australianopen”
Alcaraz rose from No.32 to the top of the rankings in 2021, making it the largest single-season jump to No. 1. This is his second significant setback in recent months, though. Alcaraz cut short last season in November after tearing an abdominal muscle while competing at the Paris Masters. That forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals.
Still, he closed out 2022 with a record of 57-13 and five singles titles. "I'd worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won't be able to play," at a tuneup event in Kooyong or the year's first Grand Slam tournament, Alcaraz wrote on Twitter.
"It's tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward," he said. The Spaniards became the first players from the same country to claim the top two spots in the ATP at the close of a season since Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in 1996.
Alcaraz's departure also removes a potential hurdle for Novak Djokovic as he returns to Australia and tries to win it for a 10th time to claim what would be his 22nd major championship overall. Djokovic missed the 2022 Australian Open after being deported from the country because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. He is still not vaccinated, but restrictions have eased.
