Alcaraz confirms US Open return to end four-month absence, will defend his title without a single warm-up match
Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his long-awaited US Open return after four months out with a wrist injury, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner works through a knee scare of his own before the year’s final Grand Slam.
Carlos Alcaraz back at the US Open 2026 | © Fabrizio Romano / Carlos Alcaraz / Instagram
Carlos Alcaraz will return to competition at the US Open, ending a four-month absence caused by a right wrist injury, with the Spaniard announcing the news in a cross-post with Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano. “Here we go! Carlos Alcaraz will return to the tour at the US Open after spending four months sidelined with a right wrist injury,” the post read, with Alcaraz pictured wearing a basketball jersey as if he had switched clubs.
It brings an end to a lengthy period of suspense. Alcaraz last played a competitive match in mid-April at the Barcelona Open, where he was later diagnosed with what we understand is a tenosynovitis, an inflamed tendon sheath, in his right wrist.
The injury forced him out of Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros, Queen’s Club, Wimbledon, the Canadian Open and, most recently, Cincinnati, costing him two Grand Slams along the way. He had been seen practising in Murcia in recent days, including an intense session alongside Holger Rune, before Thursday’s announcement confirmed the US Open will be his first tournament appearance since Barcelona.
Alcaraz will defend his title in New York without a single warm-up event.
Now Sinner?
Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, is managing a fitness concern of his own. The world No. 1, who also withdrew from Cincinnati, has been testing his right knee on the hard courts of Circolo della Stampa Sporting in Turin this week, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, after a course of shockwave therapy earlier this month for a suspected tendon inflammation. Final checks were expected at the J|Medical clinic before he too travels to New York for the US Open, which begins on August 30.
SEO summary: Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his return to the US Open 2026 after a four-month absence with a right wrist injury, announced via a cross-post with Fabrizio Romano. The Spaniard, who last played at the Barcelona Open in April, will defend his title without any warm-up tournament. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who also skipped Cincinnati, has been testing a right knee problem ahead of the hard-court major.
