Alcaraz withdrew from his first-round match against Thiago Monteiro, seemingly in significant discomfort from his ankle.
After suffering an injury that prompted him to withdraw from his Rio Open first-round match against Thiago Monteiro, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz is scheduled to undergo testing on his ankle.
Alcaraz, 20, needed medical care after he twisted his right ankle during the game’s second point. However, he soon returned to the floor with thick strapping.
Despite his discomfort, he persevered and broke Brazilian Monteiro’s serve. However, he withdrew from the match when the score was tied at one.
Alcaraz told reporters, “Tomorrow I’ll have a test for my ankle and let’s see if it’s something serious or not.”
“I felt awful. That was my initial impression. After I fell, I started to feel pain, and I reasoned that it would be hard to go on while I was experiencing that.
“After a few points it didn’t feel better. I couldn’t move well and I knew that it was going to be impossible to continue. I thought it was going to get worse if I kept playing for such a long match and that’s why I choose to retire.”
Top seed Alcaraz won the Rio title in 2022 and was runner-up last year, when he lost to Briton Cameron Norrie. He arrived in Rio after losing to Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the semi-finals of last week’s Buenos Aires Open.
Alcaraz announced earlier on Tuesday that he would play at the Queen’s Club Championships before defending his Wimbledon title in July. The two-time major champion will hope to be fit enough to defend his Indian Wells title next month.
