Carlos Alcaraz's stress injury that has left him unable to play Wimbledon
Why is former Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz not playing the tennis tournament this year?
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Wimbledon 2026 has officially begun but so far this year the competition has been riddled with injuries and players pulling out.
One face in particular has been missed from the court programme and that's former Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Having competed in three men's finals here in London, winning two of them, his absence from the tennis court hasn't gone unnoticed.
So why is Carlos Alcaraz missing from Wimbledon this year?
Like many sports stars, the only reason he is absent from the elite tennis competition is down to injury.
Carlos, aged 23, is currently recovering from a stress strain to his wrist which he obtained earlier this year.
It's reportedly all down to inflammation in his wrist tendons which can develop from repeatedly hitting forehands.
As this can be a crucial injury for a tennis player, its reported Carlos is taking a slow and steady approach to his recovery to ensure it heals properly before heading back to the courts.
He was forced to withdraw from the Barcelona Open in April 2026 which saw him also pull out of defending his title at the French open too.
In May 2026, he confirmed on social media he would also be missing out on Wimbledon.
"My recovery is going well and I feel much better, but unfortunately I’m still not ready to be able to play," he wrote.
"And that’s why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen’s and Wimbledon. They are two really special tournaments for me and I’ll miss them a lot. We keep working to return as soon as possible!"
Carlos beat Novak Djokovic in 2023 and 2024 to become the men's champion at Wimbledon and finished as runner up in 2025 after losing to Jannik Sinner.
He is currently ranked as no.2 in the world for men's tennis.