The Spaniard cut short his training on Saturday after twisting his ankle, two days before the start of the American Grand Slam. He nevertheless appeared fit a few hours later for an on-court performance.
The kind of images that tennis fans don’t like to see. While training this Saturday in New York with Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, Carlos Alcaraz twisted his ankle on a harmless ball and immediately cut his training short. Enough to fear the worst two days before the US Open (August 26-September 8) for the Spanish tennis player, not spared by injuries in his young career.
Finally, the man with four Grand Slam titles felt able to participate in an animation on the Arthur Ashe court a few hours later. Imitating the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, «Carlitos» managed to kick a tennis ball into the net on the other side of the net. Something he would have been careful not to do if his ankle was twisted.
“I just stopped training as a precaution. I didn’t feel confident enough to continue, in case it could have gotten worse. But a few hours later I feel fine.”he said at a press conference.
“I never feared for my participation in the US Open, he assured. I was upset because I didn’t want to stop, out of respect for Cerundolo (Francisco, with whom he was hitting the ball) too. I’m sure that tomorrow (Sunday) in training or Monday I’ll be 100%.”
In New York, Carlos Alcaraz is aiming for a third Major this season after Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. He already won the tournament in 2022. He will play Australian Li Tu in the first round. His last tournament, the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, had turned sour. The 21-year-old Spanish prodigy had been beaten in the first round by Gaël Monfils.
