Article by David Istrate – Published Wednesday, April 15, 2026 6:58 p.m. / Updated Wednesday, April 15, 2026 6:59 p.m.
Carlos Alcaraz (22 years old, 2 ATP), the main favorite for the title from Barcelona, made the decision to retire, due to an injury to his right wrist. Qualified for the round of 16, he did not practice on Wednesday 15 April and ultimately decided to drop out.
On Tuesday, April 14, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Finland's Otto Virtanen (24, 130 ATP) 6-4, 6-2 and qualified for the round of 16 of the tournament in Barcelona, where he would meet Czech Tomas Machac (25, 47 ATP).
Qualified in the “eighties” in Barcelona, Carlos Alcaraz withdrew due to an injury
But, in the game with Virtanen, the Spaniard injured his right wrist, requiring the intervention of the doctor in the first set of the match. Alcaraz decided to skip the official practice on Wednesday, April 15, hoping to recover in time to play in the “eighties” on Thursday, April 16.
But in the end, the world number 2 decided to drop out and will not play again this year in Barcelona.
“It's a more serious injury than we all expected and I have to listen to my body so it doesn't affect me in the future. It is very sad that I have to go home and recover as much as possible”, said Alcaraz, quoted by Marca.
Following Barcelona's withdrawal, the 22-year-old will lose 280 points as he will not be able to defend his result from 2025, when he lost the final to Denmark's Holger Rune 6-7 (6), 2-6.
On April 12, Carlos Alcaraz was defeated in the final act of the Monte Carlo tournament by Jannik Sinner, his great rival: 6-7 (5), 3-6. Thanks to this success, the Italian climbed to the first position in the world ranking and, after the abandonment of the Spaniard, the difference in points between the two will increase.
