World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz retained his Tokyo title on Tuesday by beating Czech 19th-ranked Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 in the final, securing his first trophy since returning from injury at the US Open in late August.
The 23-year-old Spaniard’s previous title came at the ATP 500 in Doha in mid-February, where he comfortably beat France’s Arthur Fils in the final. Tokyo was his first final since April, when he lost to Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters 1000. The following week in Barcelona, Alcaraz injured his right wrist, beginning an absence of more than four months.
The former world No. 1 returned to competition at the US Open, where he lost in the quarterfinals to American Ben Shelton, who went on to reach the final.
“I’m very happy to lift another trophy. It had been a long time,” Alcaraz said with a smile in his post-match interview. “This is only my second tournament since returning from injury, so winning it means a lot. It has been difficult. I haven’t always played my best tennis, but I have always managed to find a solution. Today, I probably played my best match of the week.”
It was Alcaraz’s third title of the season after Doha and the Australian Open, and the 27th trophy of his career.
Impressive ATP 500 streak
Alcaraz, who has never lost in Tokyo, made a difficult start to the final, dropping his opening service game against a Lehecka who was effective with his forehand.
The Spaniard fell 2-0 behind and then 3-1 down but stayed composed and broke back to level at 3-3. His trademark movement and energy, combined with several well-executed drop shots, eventually wore down the Czech.
Trailing 4-2 in the tiebreak, Alcaraz then won five points in a row to take a hard-fought first set after 59 minutes.
The two players stayed level early in the second set, but Lehecka, playing his second final of the season after losing to Sinner in Miami in the spring, dropped serve again at 4-3.
Alcaraz took control from there, closing out the second set without trouble to seal victory in one hour and 36 minutes.
The 24-year-old Czech, who was less solid at key moments, missed the chance to claim a third title after previous triumphs in Adelaide in 2024 and Brisbane in 2025.
Alcaraz, who has now beaten Lehecka four times in five meetings, also extended his remarkable winning streak in ATP 500 tournaments to 21 consecutive victories.
After Sweden’s Stefan Edberg from 1989 to 1991 and American Pete Sampras from 1993 to 1994, Alcaraz is only the third player to successfully defend his title in the Japanese capital.
