What is Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury? Inflammation that could rule him out of French Open

After dropping midway through the Barcelona Open and pulling out of the Madrid Open, there's a big chance world No 2 Carlsen Alcaraz will also miss the French Open. The Roland Garros tournament starts on 18 May, but Alcaraz is far from confirming his participation after suffering a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open.

Alcaraz has told Spanish TV channel that he is not in the mood to rush himself into playing at the French Open, and the focus is going to be on the long term.

“I’d rather come back a little later but in great shape than come back early, rushing around, and unwell,” Alcaraz told Spanish television channel TVE. “God willing, I have a very long career ahead of me – many years – and pushing myself too hard at this Roland Garros could seriously harm me in future tournaments.

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“Things happen in the professional world. You have to accept them. I need to recover really well if I don’t want it to affect me later on.”

Carlos Alcaraz's wrist injury explained

But what exactly is bothering Alcaraz? According to a Spanish TV show, El Partido de COPE, Alcaraz is suffering from an inflamed tendon sheath.

“In the sheath of the tendon, which is inflamed,” Angel Ga Muñiz said. “His wrist has been immobilised for four days, since last Friday. And that test, that decisive test, that key test that Carlos Alcaraz talks about, is a follow-up ultrasound.

“The first one was done right after the injury in Barcelona. At that very moment, the decision was already made that Madrid was impossible and it was already suspected that Rome would also be very difficult, and they were dreaming about Roland Garros. Now that dream seems a bit further away.

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“Everything depends on what comes out in that follow-up ultrasound, on whether the inflammation has gone down, on whether that sheath that protects the tendon is better. But obviously Rome now seems absolutely impossible, and Roland Garros looks bad.

“Does that mean he’s not going to play? No. Alcaraz wants to dream that he can be there and that, obviously, a tournament he’s won the last two editions of well deserves a certain risk — but not a risk that would put the rest of the season and the rest of his career at risk.”

The tendons in the wrist run through small, fluid-filled tunnels called tendon sheaths. These sheaths act like natural cushions, helping the tendons glide smoothly and protecting them from rubbing against the bone whenever the hand or wrist moves.

But when this area becomes inflamed — a condition known as tenosynovitis — even simple movements can become painful. Because the wrist is used so frequently in daily activities, the inflammation can make gripping, lifting or using the hand normally quite difficult.

Playing through such an injury can be risky. Continued strain may worsen the inflammation and, in severe cases, could even lead to a tendon tearing or the tendon tissue being permanently damaged.