Carlos Alcaraz admits there will be some doubts in his mind when he returns to action on Thursday at the 6 Kings Slam event in Saudi Arabia.
The six-time Grand Slam champion will be playing for the first time since hurting his ankle at the Japan Open, which he won by defeating Taylor Fritz in the final. Alcaraz subsequently opted to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters due to the injury. He was diagnosed with a second-degree ankle sprain. It was the third time he had missed a Masters event this season after Madrid (due to injury) and the Canadian Open (due to minor muscle issues and fatigue).
Alcaraz will be hoping to return to top form at the exhibition in Riyadh, which pays players a participation fee of $1.5M and a further $4.5M prize for the champion. It is the second year in a row the 22-year-old is taking part. During the first edition in 2024, he lost in the final to Jannik Sinner.
“The ankle has been doing well, recovering well within reason,” Alcaraz told Spanish sports newspaper Marca.
“It was a grade two sprain, and without much rest, it always takes a little longer to recover. I may still be playing, not with discomfort, but with a bit of doubt. Those doubts always take time to go away, but the truth is we’re doing a good job. My ankle is holding up.”
The world No.1 confirmed that he will be playing with bandaging around his ankle as an extra layer of protection and out of caution. His opening match will be against either Fritz or Alexander Zverev. In their ATP, he leads Fritz 3-1 but is tied with Zverev at 6-6.
“Most of the time, I’m not aware of the prize money at stake, although, for example, I was aware of the US Open because it was a record amount in history,” he commented on his potential earnings at the three-day event.
Looking further ahead, Alcaraz also has his eyes set on winning the ATP Finals for the first time in his career. He has played at the end-of-season event the past two years but has yet to make it through to the final.
“I prefer to take it easy, I prefer to take it week by week and try to prepare myself as best I can. Obviously, I can’t fool myself because I’m well prepared and I’m confident. I’m confident that I’m going to play good tennis in Turin.” He commented.
Then, at the start of next year, he has a chance of completing a career Grand Slam should he win the Australian Open. At the age of 22, he has already won the other three major events twice each.
“Australia is always one of my goals at the beginning of each year. I’ve always played good tennis in Melbourne, but I’ve struggled to reach the final rounds. This year, I’m going to prepare as best I can to at least get past the quarter-finals,” Alcaraz concluded.
