Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from Cincinnati event as doubts grow over US Open defence
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Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz is recovering from a wrist injury he suffered in Barcelona in April.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open owing to an ongoing wrist injury, said tournament organisers on Aug 4, casting fresh doubts over the Spaniard’s fitness ahead of his US Open title defence in August.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since withdrawing from the second round of the Barcelona Open in April, but had been set to return at the Aug 13-23 ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati.
Alcaraz was unable to defend his French Open title and also missed Wimbledon as he continued his recovery, though the 23-year-old signalled he was close to a return after posting videos of his training sessions in the last few weeks.
“We know Carlos is doing everything he can to get back to playing tournaments as soon as possible,” Cincinnati tournament director Bob Moran said in a statement.
The Winston-Salem Open, which begins on Aug 23, would be the last chance for Alcaraz to get some matches under his belt before the US Open, though the world No. 2 has yet to signal whether he intends to participate in the ATP 250 event.
He won the 2025 Cincinnati title after world No. 1 Jannik Sinner retired from the final, and carried the momentum to Flushing Meadows where he won his second US Open crown after his triumph in 2022.
Alcaraz began the season by claiming the Australian Open title to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam, before his injury.
In his absence, Sinner successfully defended his Wimbledon title and took his major tally to five.
The US Open in New York begins on Aug 30.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka returned to her hard-court comfort zone with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima in the WTA 1000 in Toronto on Aug 4.
It was a solid start for Sabalenka in her bid to bounce back after falling in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and in the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
The Belarusian star has dominated on hard courts in 2026 and, on Aug 4, notched her 24th win in 25 matches on the surface. The lone defeat was her loss to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.
Now, she is eyeing a North American hard-court run that could include a three-peat at the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year that starts on Aug 30 in New York.
“I’m happy with the performance, I’m happy with the fight,” Sabalenka said after her second-round opener.
“I knew going into this match, I might struggle a little bit after a little break, but I was ready for that.
“I’m happy that mentally and physically, I was ready to go.”
In the third round, she will face China’s Zhang Shuai, who was leading Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 4-0 when the Latvian retired from their match.
Former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek survived some nervy moments to launch her US Open build-up with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Sara Bejlek.
In her first match since her Wimbledon title defence ended with a third-round exit, Poland’s seventh-seeded Swiatek was rolling through the first nine games, appearing to be in total control with a double-break for a 3-0 lead in the second.
But her Czech opponent dug in and disrupted Swiatek’s rhythm, winning two straight games before Swiatek pulled off a great escape – fending off nine break points in a 22-minute sixth game to hold serve for a 4-2 lead.
“I’m happy that I stayed in the game and stayed solid because I felt at the end, it got pretty physical,” said Swiatek, who has slipped to world No. 8.
At the Montreal Masters, former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas regained some of the touch lost during a recent rankings slump, with the high-profile qualifier dispatching Martin Damm 6-4, 6-4 on Aug 4.
Tsitsipas will meet Brazilian Joao Fonseca in the second round. REUTERS
