US Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from ATP Tour Finals

Carlos Alcaraz is set to miss the 2022 ATP Tour Finals and the Davis Cup Finals due to a muscle tear he sustained in his abdomen during the quarterfinal clash against Holger Rune at the Paris Masters.

The Spaniard retired 3-6, 6(1)-6(3) down against Rune due to the same injury and had hoped that it would be nothing more than minor. Unfortunately, after a thorough check-up from his medical team, he was diagnosed with an "internal oblique muscle tear" in the abdominal wall that will keep him out of action for a minimum of six weeks.

"After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, Dr. Lopez Martinez and Juanjo Moreno, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks," Alcaraz wrote.

Taking to social media to announce the news to his fans, the World No. 1 revealed that he will be withdrawing from the ATP Tour Finals with immediate effect as a result, a tournament he had qualified for along with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and others. Alcaraz was set to make his debut at the year-end championships and will miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

The teenager will also miss the Davis Cup Finals after that, where he was selected along with the likes of Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut and others. As painful as it was for Alcaraz to skip these events, he admitted that it was far more important in the long run that he recover from the injury properly and hoped to kickstart his next season on a more positive note.

"Unfortunately, I won't make the ATP Finals or the Davis Cup Finals. It is tough and painful for me to miss these two events, which are so important to me, but all I can do is be positive and focus on my recovery," Carlos Alcaraz tweeted. "Thank you for the support!"

Carlos Alcaraz will be replaced by Taylor Fritz at the 2022 ATP Tour Finals

Carlos Alcaraz at the Rolex Paris Masters

With Carlos Alcaraz pulling out of the 2022 ATP Tour Finals, Taylor Fritz, who was the first alternate for the tournament, will be entering the main draw for the group stage. Hubert Hurkacz, therefore, gets promoted to the first alternate position.

Rafael Nadal will now be the provisional top seed at the year-end championships, followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud. The remaining five spots are taken up by, in order: Daniil Medvedev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, Novak Djokovic and Fritz.

Djokovic and Tsitsipas, however, are in contention to reach the final of the Paris Masters and can climb up the spots by winning the event.