Carlos Alcaraz and the risk of his injuries

Carlos Alcaraz it exudes brutal intensity. You only have to watch a training session or a match to realize that his effort levels are very high. And this has consequences. Murcian does not stop accumulating physical problems: six injuries in the last year which have raised the alarm about whether this is just a warning for the future or a constant to consider in one’s career.

At just 20 years old, Alcaraz already has in his El Palmar showcase a Grand Slam, four Masters 1,000 and five other titles (two ATP 250 and three ATP 500), but also a long history of injuries. A year ago elbow problems prevented him from participating at Queen’s and he was forced to play with protection at Wimbledon. He later suffered an abdominal wound in Paris-Bercy and missed the rest of the season, including the Davis Cup and the ATP Finals in Turin. The 2023 season did not start differently either, with an injury during one of the last training sessions before Australia. He suffered discomfort in the semimembranosus muscle of his right leg and said goodbye to the first Grand Slam on the circuit, where he said goodbye to number one.

After the victory in Buenos Aires and the final in Rio, in the middle of the fight for the title, he damaged the tendon of his right leg. I couldn’t play until Indian Wells. The last victory in that tournament, along with the semi-final in Miami, caused discomfort in his left arm and spine, which resulted in a defeat in Monte Carlo. And on top of the scourge of accidents, as a result of tension, cramps that burdened him against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of Roland Garros.

“Injuries, especially in high performance due to high demand, are very common. The athlete perceives it as a duel, where he goes through several stages such as denial of what happened, anger looking for explanations or culprits, sadness and finally acceptance”, explains Teresa Mesía, a sports psychologist who works with athletes of various specialties.

Alcaraz’s response to the Paris problem was to fill his calendar even more. Murcian will play at Queen’s (June 19-26) and then the Hurlingham Exhibition (June 27-July 1), in preparation for Wimbledon (July 3-16). This is explained from the need to play on grass, a surface that is still inhospitable for Alcaraz, in which she barely played two official tournaments in it (Wimbledon in 2021 and 2022). It also highlights the high level of involvement of Alcaraz, who plays until his body says enough is enough. For example, when last year, after Wimbledon, he decided to return to clay in July to play for Hamburg and Umag, and this week’s announcement that he will play in Buenos Aires in February 2024.

Pressure on Raducan too

Alcaraz does not stop. Because he is 20 years old, because He sees himself as a candidate for everything and because he believes that his body can handle it, but there are mirrors nearby where you can look and be careful before that. The clearest, that of Emma Raducanu. By winning the qualifying stage and without losing a set at the US Open 2021, the British woman completed one of the most magical sports fairy tales. She managed it at the age of 18 and outside the top 100 in the world. His career began with a meteoric rise, but he stopped there. Everyone expected her to be a big star of the WTA, but since the triumph in New York she has not played in the finals, and her burden was injuries, to the extent that a few weeks ago she had to have surgery on both hands, without estimating the time of return.

The high expectations took their toll on Raducanu’s body, which could not handle the pressure or the physical effort of going from 150th in the world overnight to a favorite in every tournament. “The age factor is very important. The older you are, the more time you’ve had to achieve your goals. The younger you are, the more time you have ahead of you, and therefore the more frustrating it is to get an injury that puts your future in question,” Teresa Mesía points out.

Boluda’s case

In Spain, one of the most notorious cases is the case Carlos Boluda, the only tennis player to win the legendary tournament Les Petis As, the best under-14 tournament in the world. The man from Alicante was billed as “the next Nadal” and signed major sponsorships with Nike and Prince, but his career never lived up to the expectations others placed on him.

“I had a wrist injury for two years. I completely forgot to play tennis. That phase was very difficult and you have to assume many things. It was such a great host that there was no room for reflection. It hurt me that people close to me disappeared and the world of tennis disgusted me a little,” revealed Boluda, who retired at the age of 27 and is now a coach. “If everyone tells you how good and talented you are in your sport and that you are ‘born for this’, when an injury comes that threatens that future, then if you have no other paths or options in your head, for the feeling The value of that player can be very high,” says Mesía.

Djokovic is the answer

The situation with Alcaraz is different, because he has already achieved much more than others achieve in their sports careers and because his environment also has positive examples, such as Djokovic himself. Now seen as an unstoppable force, the Serbian was a weak tennis player in his first steps on the court. He had respiratory problems and got too tired in long matches. Between 2003—the year of his professional debut—and 2011, Djokovic retired from eleven matches in progress. In order to relieve his respiratory problems, he underwent surgery in 2006 and had a deviated septum to stop his fatigue. He changed his diet between 2010 and 2011 and got rid of gluten. Result, 22 out of 23 titles Grand Slams since 2011 and five years in a row without withdrawal. Djokovic is the answer. Physical problems can be temporary.