Four months after a debilitating right wrist injury sidelined him from competitive tennis, defending US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz has formally confirmed he will make his comeback at the 2026 iteration of the year’s final Grand Slam, kicking off August 30 in New York’s Flushing Meadows.
The 23-year-old Spaniard has enjoyed a historic run of form in recent seasons, claiming victory at the 2026 Australian Open in January to become the youngest male player in the history of the sport to complete a career sweep of all four Grand Slam titles. That win marked his seventh major championship, and he followed it up with a title at February’s Qatar Open. But his momentum ground to a halt in mid-April, when he sustained the wrist injury during the Barcelona Open, forcing him to withdraw after just one match and step away from the tour entirely.
The confirmation of his US Open return was made public via a joint Instagram post from Alcaraz and popular football journalist and influencer Fabrizio Romano, with Alcaraz later echoing the announcement on X with Romano’s iconic catchphrase “here we go!” alongside an American flag emoji and a plane emoji, signaling his upcoming trip to the United States. Beyond his expected place in the men’s singles draw, Alcaraz is also considering entering the mixed doubles competition held in the lead-up to the main draw, where three wildcard spots remain unannounced. Alcaraz competed in the revamped mixed doubles event at last year’s US Open alongside British star Emma Raducanu, who will miss this year’s tournament due to her own injury.
Alcaraz’s four-month absence from competition has already shifted the men’s world rankings: he dropped from world number two to be replaced by Germany’s Alexander Zverev, after he was unable to defend his 2025 Cincinnati Open title. Current world number one Jannik Sinner, who Alcaraz defeated in last year’s US Open final, has stretched his lead at the top of the rankings during Alcaraz’s layoff. Sinner claimed the 2026 Wimbledon title in July, while Zverev took home the French Open crown and finished runner-up at SW19. Like Alcaraz, Sinner will enter the US Open lacking recent hard-court match practice, after he withdrew from the Cincinnati Open with a knee injury.
Alcaraz has taken a cautious approach to his comeback, easing back into structured training in July after missing the entire clay court swing and grass court season. Photographs emerged of him hitting practice shots at a facility in his native Spain on August 4, but he withdrew from the Cincinnati Open just 24 hours later as a precaution. In recent weeks, he has been spotted training in his home region of Murcia wearing a protective sleeve on his forearm, and has been practicing alongside close friend and fellow tour pro Holger Rune of Denmark, who is himself returning to fitness after an Achilles rupture in October 2025.
Wrist injuries carry well-documented risk for professional tennis players, with even minor injuries capable of ending or severely derailing careers if mismanaged. Alcaraz emphasized in April that he prioritized long-term health over a rushed comeback, stating he did not want to risk permanent damage that would jeopardize his participation in future events. This caution echoes the experiences of former top pros: 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem retired at the end of 2024 after a wrist injury cut his career short, while 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro battled persistent wrist issues throughout his professional tenure.
Alcaraz first made history at the US Open in 2022, when he claimed his first Grand Slam title at just 19 years old, becoming the youngest men’s major champion in 17 years after defeating Casper Ruud in the final. He repeated that triumph in 2025, beating Sinner in a four-set final to retain his crown. Sinner, meanwhile, has dominated the men’s tour in Alcaraz’s absence this season, dropping just three matches all year. Two of those losses came in the first two months of 2026, including a defeat to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals. Sinner claimed the coveted “Sunshine Double” – back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami Open – without dropping a single set, and has only suffered one surprising early exit at the French Open this season, entering the US Open as the overwhelming top favorite. Fitness remains the only major question mark hanging over Sinner’s bid for a sixth Grand Slam title.