Alcaraz Plans More In-Season Breaks After US Open Return — SkimNews
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- Carlos Alcaraz returned to competition at the US Open after a four-month absence caused by a right wrist injury that forced his withdrawal from the Barcelona Open in April.
- The defending champion advanced to the fourth round Friday with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Wu Yibing.
- Alcaraz said his body feels good with no setbacks after matches and that he 'surprised' himself with how well he's recovering.
- He plans to take more in-season breaks for mental benefit, noting the wrist injury was not caused by playing too much — he simply wants to feel 'joy' and 'miss the tennis sometimes.'
- Alcaraz played 80 matches last year, going 71-9 with seven major championships including this year's Australian Open before he was hurt.
- Unlike many players worried about the season's length, he said he doesn't have serious ranking or financial concerns about skipping events.
- He debuted a white undershirt beneath his sleeveless shirt to fix a wardrobe issue and a new arrow-shooting celebration chosen by his brothers over dancing.
Why it matters: Alcaraz played 80 matches last year and has seven majors, yet is choosing to skip events despite having no ranking or financial pressure to play them — a rare stance among top players. His stated goal of feeling 'joy' on court rather than simply protecting his wrist reframes the player-vs-tour-schedule debate around mental health and could pressure other elite players to be more selective.
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