Carlos Alcaraz had already been warned about getting injured and managing his schedule before he was forced to pull out of next week’s Swiss Indoors Basel. The world No 2 announced that he had two separate physical issues that needed treatment. Alcaraz is now in a race against time to recover before his last two events of the season – the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.
Alcaraz announced his withdrawal from the upcoming ATP 500 in Basel on Wednesday night. “I have a problem with the plantar fascia in my left foot and muscle fatigue in my lower back which need treatment so I can play the rest of the season,” he wrote on social media, confirming that injuries were stopping him from playing.
The 20-year-old had already been warned that he could find himself in this position by two retired pros who raised concerns about his explosive game style and his scheduling. Marion Bartoli previously explained that Alcaraz would keep finding himself briefly sidelined by smaller issues.
“Because of the physicality of his game and the way he is playing, he’s just more prone to having the small injuries,” she told the Tennis Majors Match Points podcast. “They’re not major injuries that put him on the side for a long time, even though last year he missed the year-end championship and therefore the Australian Open this year.”
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Alcaraz will be hoping that he doesn’t find himself in the same position this year after picking up two injuries with the season-ending ATP Finals less than a month away. The two-time Major champion recently endured a disappointing maiden Asian swing as he made his debut at both the China Open and the Shanghai Masters.
He crashed out to Jannik Sinner in the semi-final of the former event and was beaten by Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 in Shanghai – his earliest loss since May. Fellow Spaniard Alex Corretja then raised concerns about his scheduling though admitted he wasn’t worried by the disappointing losses.
Speaking to Eurosport, the former world No 2 said: “There will come a time when he will have to select tournaments like [Novak] Djokovic.” Djokovic chose to skip the Asian swing to remain fresh for the final stretch of the season, as he will play in the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals as well as the Davis Cup as he bids to help Serbia lift the trophy.
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“One of the keys for Alcaraz is to select the calendar well, due to travel, training, and changes in schedules and hotels,” Corretja added, hinting that Alcaraz may want to cut down on the number of tournaments he plays in the future. It means that the decision to skip the Swiss Indoors could be the right idea in Corretja’s eyes, giving the 20-year-old more time to rest and recover before the last two events of the season.
Alcaraz will still be racing to be ready in time, with the Paris Masters only starting one week later than the tournament in Basel. Last year, he picked up an abdominal injury during his quarter-final match against Holger Rune in Paris and had to end his season early, missing out on the chance to make his debut at the ATP Finals. And he will be keen to avoid the same disappointment this time around.
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