Just turned 21, a problem hammers the head of Carlos Alcaraz. Injuries, those that have become his number one public enemy above any other rival, give him no respite. What’s more, they multiply. In the last year and a half, since he won his first Grand Slam at the US Open 2022 and assaulted number one in the ranking for the first time, the Murcian tennis player has suffered ten physical mishaps that have not given your body any respite
Eighteen months of triumphs and establishing themselves as a reference on the circuit, but also of shocks. He oblique muscle tear internal left abdominal wall that occurred at the Paris Masters 1000 in November 2022 was the beginning of a carousel of physical problems that continue to this day. From there, a number of tear in the semimembranosus muscle of the right leg, one hamstring strainthe post-traumatic arthritis in the left hand, muscular discomfort in the spinea inflammation in the plantar fascia of the left foot, muscle fatigue in the lumbar area, one ankle sprain and the current right forearm injurywith relapse due to edema in the pronator of the same arm.
18 months in which Alcaraz he has missed a Grand Slam (Australia 2023), three Masters 1000, the 2022 Masters Cup and several more lower-category tournaments. Since he reached number one, he has only been able to chain six months free of shocks, between April and October 2023. And that is assuming the official version that the cramp problem that led him to retire in the Roland Garros semifinals against Novak Djokovic went “because of the nerves and tension” of the moment.
“Off the track I have done things much better and that makes me feel much better physically. All these injuries help me know what things I have to do better this year, how I have to work, rest, eat, how I have to do things off the court,” said Alcaraz, diligently, at the beginning of this year when he arrived at the Australian Open. He responded in this way to the public scolding of Juan Carlos Ferrero a few months before, in which his coach insisted that “You have to learn to be professional and do things when it’s time.”: train when it’s time, disconnect when it’s time, have a good time when it’s time.”
“My body is not made”
But not even for those. So far this season He has already missed four tournaments (Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and retirement in the debut in Rio) and the run run it doesn’t stop The problems in his forearm will make him miss the Masters 1000 in Rome and will make him arrive very soon at Roland Garros, which starts on Sunday, May 26. After missing Monte Carlo and Barcelona due to an injury to that same arm, Alcaraz forced himself to play at home and be able to defend the 2022 and 2023 title at the Mutua Madrid Open. The consequence: relapse and time trial towards Pariswhere he would arrive with only three shooting games during the European dirt tour.
“The truth is that Yes, I am worried about injuries, many times I do not understand the situations“I don’t understand the moments and I ask them why if I’m doing things well: I’m sleeping well, I’m eating well, I’m training well and the injuries come,” Alcaraz acknowledged in response to the insistent questions from the press in Madrid. “Al Ultimately we have to deal with injuries. Even though I feel physically well, and I have trained well, I am 21 years old and my body is not made. I need a couple of years for my body to adjust a little to this demand. I I think that by taking care of ourselves these years it will get better. But I have asked myself about it and many times I don’t understand it,” explained the Murcian.
Just a few days later it was learned that overexertion in Madrid once again wreaked havoc on his body. “I need rest to recover and be able to play one hundred percent without pain”Alcaraz acknowledged when announcing that she would be out in Rome and after several press conferences in which she insisted that negative thoughts about the evolution of her arm were still present.
His physique, explosive and developing at just 21 years old, continues to be treacherous. The demands of the circuit, together with a body yet to be finished, takes its toll. It breaks him too frequently, he barely gives any warning, but it also allows him compete upon your return with almost no need for filming, as he demonstrated in Indian Wells. He arrived there after retiring from the Rio tournament due to a sprained ankle and without running and with a change of surface included, he won the title, his second crown in Palm Springs (California).
A double-edged sword that has allowed him to remain in the top-3 throughout this time. Despite everything, Alcaraz He has already accumulated 12 titles in his career, two of which are Grand Slams (US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023) and five Masters 1,000. Two histories, that of injuries and that of triumphs, worthy of a veteran, but in his case they belong to a talent with just three seasons in the elite. To a large extent, reducing the first will help polish the second.
2024-05-06 06:16:35
#Ten #injuries #months #unknown #Alcarazs #physique #talent
