Alcaraz withdraws from Rio de Janeiro Open due to sprained ankle

Carlos Alcaraznumber two in the world and first favorite, had to withdraw from the Rio de Janeiro Open when he played his first match at the only ATP 500 tournament in South America after sprained my right ankle in the second point of the fight with the Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.

The Valencian suffered a visible dislocation of his right ankle while performing a lateral move, fell to the ground on the clay court and took some time to get up.

With a clear expression of concern, the reigning Wimbledon champion walked up to the bench and asked: health care and tried to continue the game. However, with obvious signs of pain and visible swellingeventually left the game with the score 1-1.

He will undergo an examination to assess the severity of the injury.

Despite the alarming ankle sprain, it doesn’t seem so serious just as I was afraid at first. “Tomorrow I have to go imaging tests We’ll see what happens, but both my physiotherapist and the ATP team think it’s not anything serious,” said the 20-year-old Valencian and current player. Wimbledon champion at the press conference he gave after his withdrawal from the Brazilian tournament.

The tennis player added that depending on the results Exams which he will undergo today, Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, will determine his steps in the current season, but for now he cannot rule out any tournament.

“At the end of the day, the ankle is still hot. It needs to cool down and I need to see how it feels to determine my next moves. I need to wait to see what appears in the images and from there take one direction or another,” said the former world number one, ruling out any hasty decision.

His farewell came after his match was delayed by more than two hours due to rain which hit the Brazilian Jockey Club and delayed the entire second day of the tournament.

Alcaraz, the biggest attraction of the Rio Open

Alcaraz was The biggest attraction in Rio de Janeiro after being tournament champion in 2022 and a finalist in 2023, he fell in the final to Britain’s Cameron Norrie after also complaining of an injury.

The tennis player was hoping to start his return to the top spot in the world rankings with Rio as he follows on the heels of Novak Djokovic after reaching the quarterfinals of this year’s Australian Open and the semifinals of the Buenos Aires Open.

The 10th edition of the Rio de Janeiro Open will run until next Sunday on the clay courts of the Brazilian Jockey Club and will award the winner a prize of $392,775.