"I am not clear at all" - Carlos Alcaraz casts doubt over Madrid Open days after Barcelona Open withdrawal amid injury

Carlos Alcaraz recently shared a discouraging update ahead of his title defense at the 2024 Madrid Open.

Alcaraz’s yet to start his 2024 European claycourt campaign. He was supposed to compete at the Monte-Carlo Masters, but the pronator teres injury he sustained during one of his practice sessions forced him to pull out. The Spaniard has since also withdrawn from the ongoing Barcelona Open, where he's a two-time defending champion.

Following his withdrawal, Carlos Alcaraz addressed the press in Barcelona to share an update on his forearm injury.

"The images we have are positive, but my feeling is not correct, but this is what there is right now. Now I will put all my concentration on the recovery, since I will have a little more margin," he said in his press conference (translated from Spanish via Punto de Break).

The former World No. 1 also shared his concerns about his upcoming Madrid Open title defense (April 24-May 5).

"My goal is to go to the Mutua Madrid Open, but, at the moment, I am not clear at all," he said.

He, however, added that he intends to compete and is willing to do “everything in his power” to recover in time for the Masters 1000 event.

"They told me some deadlines, which I have met well, but I still don't have those good feelings. I don't want to rush, I don't want to say that I will be 100% in Madrid, although that is my intention," Carlos Alcaraz said.

"We are going to train, we are going to do everything in our power to make those sensations better and the right ones to play a tennis match at 100%," the two-time Grand Slam champion added. "I hope I can enjoy the Madrid crowd and playing at home, this would be super important for me. I hope everything goes on a good path."

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Carlos Alcaraz sheds light on his injury struggle after Barcelona Open withdrawal: "I noticed more and more discomfort"

Carlos Alacraz pictured after his ankle injury at the 2024 Rio Open

Carlos Alcaraz also gave a detailed account of how he injured his pronator teres and touched upon his recovery setback since.

The Spaniard said that while he felt “significant” discomfort in his forearm during his first training session in Monte-Carlo, he initially brushed aside any major concerns.

"It all started in Monte-Carlo, in the first training session. After an hour I felt quite significant discomfort in my forearm, something that I thought would not be a big deal," he said.

"But together with my team we treated it as best as possible, doing the necessary tests to see what I had there. The idea was to play Monte Carlo, but I couldn't because the deadlines were not met," he added.

The 20-year-old said that his recent tests were encouraging, but his practice session didn't go as planned.

"I took a test, from which some quite positive images came out, something that gave me hope to play (at the Barcelona Open), but for us the litmus test was Sunday," Carlos Alcaraz said.

"It was the first day I hit with my forehand since that day in Monte Carlo and it wasn't as we expected. Again I noticed the same thing, every time I increased the intensity on the right I saw that I noticed more and more discomfort," he said.

Carlos Alcaraz has had his fair share of struggles in 2024. The Spaniard has won just one title so far – a repeat in Indian Wells.

At the Australian Open and the Miami Open, he lost in the quarterfinals to Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov, respectively. He fell short in his Argentina Open title defense, losing to Nicolas Jarry in the semifinals.

In his Rio Open opener, the World No. 3 suffered an ankle injury, which forced him to retire mid-match.