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Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed he will not defend his French Open title in 2026. Roland Garros responded to his withdrawal, which follows Rafael Nadal's announcement of his absence due to injury.
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Carlos Alcaraz wonāt be back to defend his French Open title in 2026.
The Spaniard took to social media to confirm his withdrawal from this yearās tournament, and Roland Garros shared a message soon after.
Alcaraz isnāt the only former French Open champion who has been ruled out. Rafael Nadal will also miss the 2026 event due to injury.
The 15-time Roland Garros winner has also struggled with injuries this year and, while he is hoping to return later this season, heās yet to confirm a date for his comeback.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
āSome heartbreaking news as Carlos Alcaraz, our 2024 and 2025 champion, will not be able to defend his title at Roland-Garros 2026 due to a wrist injury,ā they wrote on X.
āWishing you all the best in your recovery, Carlos. Weāll miss you!ā
Alcaraz hasnāt played since the Barcelona Open, where he picked up the injury during a win over Otto Virtanen. The following day, he withdrew from Barcelona and later pulled out of Madrid as well.
Speaking at the Laureus Sports Awards in Madrid, Alcaraz mentioned that he was waiting on more tests before deciding whether to play in Rome or Roland Garros.
With both tournaments now off his schedule, itās clear the situation is as serious as initially feared. A return in time for the grass-court season would be ideal for Alcaraz but nothing is set yet.
Losing out on both the Italian Open and French Open means heāll drop 3,000 ranking points by mid-June. Thatās a big hit for someone chasing world number one status again.
Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his withdrawal from the tournament via social media, but the specific reasons for his absence were not detailed.
Rafael Nadal is also confirmed to miss the 2026 French Open due to injury.
Roland Garros shared a message in response to Carlos Alcaraz's announcement of his withdrawal from the tournament.
The 2026 French Open is scheduled to take place in late May to early June, as is customary for the tournament.

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With Alcaraz out, the only past champions left in this yearās field are Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic. Wawrinka, who won the title back in 2015, has received a wild card entry but isnāt expected to make a deep run.
The 41-year-old is set to retire later this year and has struggled for form, picking up just a few wins so far in 2026. Djokovic, meanwhile, is still chasing his 25th Grand Slam titleāa record that would further cement his place among the all-time greats.
Since winning number 24 at the 2023 US Open, though, heās struggled against the likes of Jannik Sinner and Alcaraz himself. But with Alcaraz out of the frame this time, it could be Djokovicās best opportunity yet to add another major trophy to his collection. Other players will also be looking to take advantage of Alcarazās absence.
World number three Alexander Zverev is still searching for his first Grand Slam title despite reaching three major finals. After losing to Alcaraz in last yearās French Open final, heāll see this as a golden chance.
Lorenzo Musetti and Arthur Fils are two other names worth keeping an eye on. The Italian was strong on clay throughout last season, making semi-final runs at all four major clay events.
And Fils has looked sharp since returning from injury, already capitalising once on Alcarazās absence by taking the Barcelona title earlier this year.
Whether he can repeat that success in Paris remains to be seen. With the draw wide open and plenty of storylines developing, you wonāt want to miss when play gets underway on Sunday, May 24th.
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