Carlos Alcaraz will have tests to ensure that he has suffered no significant injury whilst playing in the final of the ATP Finals on Sunday, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.
The six-time Grand Slam winner appeared to tweak his hamstring during the opening set of his clash against Jannik Sinner, which he lost in two closely contested sets. In their head-to-head, it was only the second time Alcaraz had been beaten by the Italian out of six meetings this season. He was bidding to become the first singles player from his country to win the year-end title since 1998.
Despite the setback, the 22-year-old has played down the suggestion that it affected his latest performance in Turin.
“I felt something, the hamstring, after trying to catch one serve. I could say it didn’t affect me too much, to be honest, because I could run well, I could go to the balls well,” Alcaraz told reporters.
“Obviously, the thoughts about how it was going to be if I do crazy things that I’m used to doing, how it’s going to be, those thoughts were in my mind sometimes. But I could play well.
“I’m not going to say I could play better or I could do something better if my hamstring were well. I could play really good tennis with it. The loss is because he deserved it.
“I didn’t change the plan because of the injury,” he continued. “I changed it because I felt that I had to do something else. I’m trying to be as aggressive as I can on court every match, but especially I think even more against Jannik.”
Despite Alcaraz’s optimism, a plan has been put into place to minimise the risk of potentially worsening his injury whilst playing in this week’s Davis Cup finals. According to Marca, he will undergo an MRI in the hamstring area to rule out any injury. It will be conducted by Angel Ruiz Cotorro, who is the head of medical services for the Spanish Tennis Federation.
Should the tests come back clear, Alcaraz will likely feature in his country’s quarter-final clash with the Czech Republic on Thursday, which features two singles matches and one doubles match.
Despite missing out on the ATP Finals title, Alcaraz has secured the year-end No.1 spot after winning eight trophies since January, including the French Open and US Open. Overall, he achieved a win-loss record of 71-9 on the Tour this year.
Looking ahead to 2026, Alcaraz is eager to renew his rivalry with Sinner heading into the Australian Open. This is the only major event he has yet to win.
“It’s time to rest, hope you’re (Sinner) gonna be ready for next year because I will be ready for more finals against you,” he commented during the trophy presentation in Turin.
