Confirmed: Carlos Alcaraz will miss Madrid Open

Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed he will not attend the Madrid Open. The ATP Series 1,000, won by Alcaraz in 2022 and 2023, is the penultimate tournament before Roland Garros, where Alcaraz will be defending his win. And the 21-year-old, who had pain in the Barcelona Open final last Sunday, losing to Holger Rune, will not take any chances and will rest.

It had been rumoured for days. Alcaraz, who attended the premiere of his Netflix docuseries "My Way", released yesterday on Netflix, said that "sometimes you need to listen to you body". This morning, the Higher Council of Sports in Spain posted a tweet confirming Alcaraz's absence, but later deleted it. He will announce it in a press conference later this morning.

Alcaraz will then focus on the Italian Open in Rome, to be played between 6 and 18 of May, where Zverev, current World No. 2, will be defending vital points in his race with Alcaraz, and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is expected to return after his three month ban.