World number one Carlos Alcaraz will not play in the Australian Open after picking up a right leg muscle injury during pre-season training, the Spaniard said on Friday.
‘When I was at my best in preseason, I picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training. This time it’s the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg,’ he wrote on Twitter.
‘I’d worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won’t be able to play the Care A2+ Kooyong or the Australian Open. It’s tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward. See you in 2024,’ he added.
‘We’re sorry we won’t be seeing you this year @carlosalcaraz. Wishing you a swift recovery. See you back on court soon,’ the official Australian Open account said on Twitter.
The 19-year-old claimed his maiden major title at last year’s U.S Open, which also made him the youngest ever men’s world number one.
Before the start of the first Grand Slam of the year, he said he was nearing full fitness ahead of the new season, having missed the ATP Finals and Davis Cup due to an abdominal injury sustained at the Paris Masters.
Alcaraz replaced Russia’s Daniil Medvedev at the top of the rankings after beating Norway’s Casper Ruud in the U.S. Open final in September by electrifying the crowd with his acrobatic shot-making, hard-hitting forehand and emphatic fist pumps.
Meanwhile, seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams pulled out of this month’s Australian Open due to injury, the organisers of the season’s first Grand Slam said on Saturday.
Williams was set to play her 22nd Australian Open after being awarded a wildcard to the Jan. 16-29 tournament.
The 42-year-old American, twice a finalist at Melbourne Park who is now ranked outside the top 1,000, was preparing for the tournament at the Auckland Classic where she got injured.
‘Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to an injury sustained at the ASB Classic in New Zealand,’ the Australian Open said in a tweet.
Williams crashed out of the U.S. Open in the first round with a loss to unseeded Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck and only returned to action in Auckland, where she downed compatriot Katie Volynets before losing to China’s Zhu Lin.
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