The world No. 2 has not played since withdrawing ahead of his second-round match against Tomas Machac at the Barcelona Open because of a lingering right wrist injury. The setback forced the 23-year-old to miss most of the clay-court season and the entire grass-court swing, including two Grand Slam tournaments and two Masters 1000 events.
Alcaraz was unable to defend his title at Roland-Garros and also missed Wimbledon, where he had reached the final last year. His absence from the Canadian tournament means he will now skip a third Masters 1000 event, having already sat out Madrid and Rome.
Although the Spaniard has yet to comment publicly on his withdrawal from Montreal, he offered fans an encouraging update on Thursday. In a video shared on Instagram, Alcaraz was seen back in training, going through drills and hitting forehands and backhands at low intensity, with his right wrist no longer heavily bandaged. Accompanying the footage with the caption, “On the right path,” the Spaniard suggested that his recovery remains on track as he continues his progress towards a full return to competition.
However, his continued absence has raised concerns over his participation in the remainder of the North American hard-court season. With Montreal ruled out, the Cincinnati Masters, scheduled for August 13-23, represents one of Alcaraz’s final opportunities to regain match fitness before the US Open begins on August 30.
Questions are now growing over whether the Spaniard will be ready in time to defend his title in New York. Alcaraz also lifted the Cincinnati trophy last year, meaning he could lose up to 3,000 ranking points if he is unable to compete in either tournament.
Such a scenario would further affect his ATP ranking in the second half of the season, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the 7-time Grand Slam champion as the final Major of the year approaches.
