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Even Carlos Alcaraz can’t win ’em all.
Though it’s always a bit of a gut check when tennis fans are reminded that he can’t play ’em all, either. The seven-time Grand Slam winner announced last month that he wouldn’t be competing at Wimbledon this year as he continues to rehab his injured right wrist.
Hence the tournament getting underway June 29 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club without its 2023 and 2024 champion in the draw.
“My recovery is going well and I’m feeling much better,” Alcaraz, who knocked out back-to-back Wimbledon titles before losing to Jannik Sinner in the 2025 final, posted on X May 19, “but unfortunately I’m still not ready to compete.”
It was a disappointing, if not shocking, update, considering the 23-year-old had already withdrawn from the 2026 French Open after hurting his wrist during his April 14 first-round win at the Barcelona Open. He withdrew from the tournament the following day.
When Alcaraz—who in winning the Australian Open Feb. 1 at the age of 22 years and 272 days old became the youngest player ever to complete a career Grand Slam (Don Budge was two days shy of his 23rd birthday when he completed the feat in 1938)—was named World Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards on April 20 in Madrid, he was sporting a small cast.
David Ramirez/Soccrates/Getty Images
A few days later, the Spanish athlete pulled the plug on the rest of the clay court season.
Alas, he wasn’t ready to hit the grass, either, much to the consternation of Wimbledon organizers and ticket holders, if not the rest of the men’s field.
Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Though, really, even Alcaraz’s chief rivals know not only that it’s a better show when they’re all playing, but that their titles mean more too if he’s there to make reaching the final—or winning it all—more difficult.
“I think what’s most important is to say that, first of all, tennis needs Carlos,” Sinner said at a news conference in May when asked if he felt his own chances to win the French Open had improved with two-time defending champ Alcaraz out of the draw. “Tennis is a much better sport when he’s around.”
Having called their off-court relationship “amazing” after beating Alcaraz at Wimbledon last year, the Italian player continued, “For me, personally, it’s nice when he’s around. It makes me look also in the draw and seeing the matches in a different way, even though if I would face Carlos it would always be in the final. With the No. 1 and No. 2 seed, that’s the case.”
Julian Finney/Getty Images
Sinner, meanwhile, had taken over the No. 1 ranking after beating Alcaraz in the April 12 final of the Monte-Carlo Masters.
But despite not playing since April 14, when he suffered his injury, Alcaraz remains No. 2 in the world, still more than 2,200 points ahead of French Open champion Alexander Zverev—who capitalized on Alcaraz’s absence, plus Sinner and Novak Djokovic‘s early round exits, to win his first Grand Slam title.
Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images
In the meantime, Alcaraz hasn’t shared what exactly is wrong with his wrist, but when announcing his withdrawal from the Barcelona Open he said it was “a more serious injury than any of us expected.”
“I have to listen to my body,” he added, “and avoid it affecting me in the future.”
As Alcaraz incidentally told Vanity Fair in March, “There’s been times in which I didn’t stop to take a break, and that led to me not playing well, or becoming injured, or…Let’s just leave it at that, that it didn’t end well.”
So, famous Alcaraz fans such as David Beckham, Spike Lee and Dua Lipa will have to wait a bit longer to find out if the defending U.S. Open champ is feeling fit enough to defend that title later this year. In the meantime, see more stars spotted in the stands at sporting events:
Mariners
Getty/MLB Photos
Russell Lee/Cleveland Guardians
Flecha Azul Tequila
New York Islanders
INDYCAR
Michael Simon
INDYCAR
Michael Simon
Miami Heat/Julia Rose
Michael Simon
Michael Simon
MuzicSwipe
Joshua Rathbun Production
Michael Simon
Michael Simon
Michael Simon
Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images
Alfa Romeo F1 Team
Williams Racing
Michael Simon
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