Alcaraz ends four-month exile with trademark flourish

“I’m coming back. Here we go.” With those six words, Carlos Alcaraz bent the tennis universe back his way on Thursday, heralding his return to the sport after a four-month absence caused by a wrist injury.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion, who has been sidelined since April, confirmed his comeback at the U.S. Open in a collaboration post with soccer transfer figure Fabrizio Romano — even adopting the Italian’s signature catchphrase: “Here we go.”

The 23-year-old Spaniard is the defending champion in New York. Assuming his wrist stays healthy over the coming week, he will look to renew his rivalry with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. However, Sinner is yet to confirm his participation after withdrawing from this week’s Cincinnati Open with a right knee injury.

Doubts remain over singles participation

Alcaraz is also yet to formally confirm whether his comeback will include the singles event. The main draws begin Aug. 30, but Alcaraz may be on court sooner than that. The U.S. Open still has three wild cards to award for its mixed doubles tournament, which runs Aug. 24 through Aug. 26, including the qualifying event.

The tournament will require a decision from Alcaraz on the mixed event within the next day or so, though his singles participation need not be finalized until the draw on Aug. 27. Alcaraz could pair with Serena Williams, the greatest player of the modern era, to form a tantalizing mixed doubles duo.

A cautious comeback path

Alcaraz has been managing tenosynovitis, an injury in which fluid accumulates in the sheath protecting a key tendon in the wrist. The ailment has kept him out of two Grand Slams this year, with the Spaniard and his team taking a cautious approach to one of the injuries tennis players fear most.

He pulled out of the French Open a full month before it began and withdrew from Wimbledon nearly six weeks out. His latest withdrawal, from Cincinnati, came much closer to the event’s start — a sign his comeback was nearing. Now it is in full view.

The move is in keeping with Alcaraz, the sport’s biggest star other than Novak Djokovic, the greatest men’s player of all time and, even at 39, a genuine rival until very recently. “Tennis needs Carlos,” Sinner said at Wimbledon.

Seeding and potential draw

Alcaraz’s absence has been an especially acute blow to the men’s game, which has banked on him and Sinner to deliver a classic generational rivalry over the coming decade. No one else won a Grand Slam title from the start of 2024 through this year’s Australian Open.

Assuming he plays singles, Alcaraz will be the No. 3 seed behind Sinner and Alexander Zverev, who won the French Open and reached the Wimbledon final, losing to Sinner. That means Sinner and Alcaraz could land on the same side of the draw and meet in the semifinals rather than the final — as they did last year in New York, London and Paris.

There is some historical precedent for what might unfold. Two years ago, Alcaraz had an arm injury that forced him to miss clay-court tuneups before the French Open. He spoke of knowing intellectually that his arm was fine but struggling to trust it would not re-injure. He went on to win the tournament.