Carlos Alcaraz announced on his Instagram that he has withdrawn from the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters due to pain in his right forearm. This makes it consecutive years where Alcaraz had to withdraw from this event.
The Spaniard said:
“I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play!”
Alcaraz had his forearm taped Monday in his practice sessions and only hit slices and finished practice early. The good thing for his fans is that he wasn’t defending any points here and didn’t stress how severe the forearm injury is. But he has a lot of points to defend from here on and would look to bounce back as soon as possible.
The World No. 3 has now missed three of the last four editions of Monte-Carlo Masters. He keeps getting injured; just four months into the season he injured his ankle in Rio and now this injury. Alcaraz has a very physically demanding play style and injuries are just a consequence of his work in the training and matches. Hopefully, he finds the right balance.
Is ATP to be blamed for a lot of arm injuries?
The ATP keeps refusing to bring consistency in the tennis balls used on the tour. How many top players have dealt with arm, elbow, and wrist injuries over the last few seasons? Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sebastian Korda, and more come to mind. It’s not like the players have not complained about it in the past but ATP has turned a blind eye.
There has been only one ball change since the start of this season but it’s not just about the manufacturer, it’s about the various versions of them. Some are heavier and take more effort to hit through the court, some are lighter, fluff up later, last longer and require less force. It would be interesting to see what ATP does to protect their players.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
