BARCELONA, Spain — In a surprising turn of events, Carlos Alcaraz has officially withdrawn from the Barcelona Open following an evaluation of his right wrist, as announced by the tournament on Wednesday.
This decision means that the world’s second-ranked player, Alcaraz, will not have the opportunity to reclaim the top spot in the rankings from Jannik Sinner next week.
The announcement comes just a day after Alcaraz called for a medical intervention during his opening match, where he triumphed over Otto Virtanen with a score of 6-4, 6-2, but needed treatment on his wrist.
The 22-year-old tennis sensation was all set to face Tomas Machac in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Alcaraz recently lost his No. 1 ranking to Sinner after being defeated in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters last Sunday.
Looking ahead, Alcaraz has the Madrid Open and the Italian Open on his schedule before he aims to defend his title at the French Open.
With Alcaraz’s withdrawal, Machac advances to the quarterfinals and is set to meet either Andrey Rublev or Lorenzo Sonego.
