Spanish Tennis Star Alcaraz Misses Key Tournaments Due to Injury
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Alcaraz, the defending champion in New York, has not competed in singles since sustaining a right wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in April, with the Spaniard missing the French Open, where he was also the defending champion, and Wimbledon. He was understandably rusty and tentative with his first serve when making his first competitive appearance since the injury alongside Serena Williams in the mixed doubles event on Tuesday, with the pair losing in the quarter-finals and the 44-year-old Williams even outperforming him during large parts of their time on court.
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AP SportsNEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz will open the defense of his U.S. Open title against an opponent who made a strong run at Wimbledon while the Spaniard was sidelined with an injury.
BBC SportSpain's Alcaraz, 23, has not played a singles match since mid-April but says he feels "great" as he prepares to make his comeback at the US Open, which begins in New York on Sunday.
ESPNReturning Alcaraz giving full effort to US defense Sidelined since April with a wrist injury and after missing the past two Grand Slam events, Carlos Alcaraz insists he is "feeling great" as he launches a bid to defend his US Open title.
Sky SportsFriday 28 August 2026 20:47, UK "I need competition." Carlos Alcaraz says he is "feeling great" as he prepares for his US Open defence in what will be the Spaniard's first appearance since recovering from a right wrist injury sustained in April.
SB NationCarlos Alcaraz vs. Roman Safiullin The top young star of men’s tennis is back. After winning his Australian Open this past January—his 7th major title overall—Alcaraz injured his wrist in April, and missed two straight grand slam tournaments. The French Open and Wimbledon simply weren’t the same without his sport-breaking pizzazz. His opponent, Roman Safiullin, is the 135th ranked player on the tour, who peaked at No. 36 a few years ago. He’s never made it further than the second round in New York, so this one’s a can’t-miss not because of what Alcaraz is up against, but because seeing him in a grand slam match is just that good, and it’s been seven long months since that privilege existed.
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The US Open is live on Sky Sports from August 30. Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and the Sky Sports App. You can also watch the Laver Cup at The O2 in London from 25-27 September live on Sky Sports.
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Two-time defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka opens against Camila Osorio. The top-ranked Sabalenka, who has struggled during the North American hard-court season, could face Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, the No. 6 seed, in the quarterfinals.
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The Guardian SportWhile a large group of players have an opportunity to make a career-defining breakthrough in the men’s draw, it will be difficult for the rank-and-file competitors to stop the strong group of elite players at the top of the women’s draw despite their differing form. Aryna Sabalenka, the defending champion, will begin against Camila Osorio as she also tries to hold on to her No 1 ranking after a difficult few months.
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The other potential women’s quarterfinals: No. 2 Elena Rybakina vs. No. 8 Iga Swiatek, and No. 4 Coco Gauff vs. No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion, in the bottom half; and No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 7 Karolina Muchova in Sabalenka’s half.
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The Guardian SportThe highest ranked players in Sabalenka’s half are the in-form third seed Jessica Pegula, a potential semi-final opponent, the Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Linda Noskova, and the seventh seed Karolina Muchova, the runner up at Wimbledon. However, considering Sabalenka’s recent results, even a potential third-round match with the two-time grand slam champion and 27th seed, Barbora Krejcikova, cannot be overlooked.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 ESPN Experts weigh in: Can Alcaraz defend his title? How will Sabalenka fare? The US Open begins Sunday, with Alcaraz back, Sinner out and Sabalenka's No.1 ranking on the line. Here's what to watch.
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02 Sky Sports Friday 28 August 2026 23:34, UK Take a look at Sunday's opening singles order of play at the US Open, Flushing Meadows, New York.
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03 The Guardian Sport His opening match against the world No 98 Safiullin, who has risen over 100 places in the world rankings this year after returning from injury and defeated Alcaraz indoors at the Paris Masters in 2023, will be a significant first challenge.
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04 BBC Sport "Once I started to practice a little bit but didn't know when I'm going to [return], those thoughts were really difficult to deal with," said Alcaraz.
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05 SB Nation The first round of the US Open begins Sunday, August 30th, and lasts through Tuesday, September 1st. Here’s a guide to some of the more exciting matches slated:
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06 AP Sports Along with some interesting opening-round matches, the draws for men’s and women’s singles Thursday delivered one what-could-have-been possibility: Had Serena Williams decided to play, there could have been a Williams sisters showdown in Round 1.
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- bbc-sport
- espn
- ap-sports
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- guardian-sport
- sbnation