October 18, (THEWILL) – Spanish tennis sensation, Carlos Alcaraz, has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel due to injury, organisers announced on Wednesday. The world number two is suffering from inflammation in his left foot as well as muscle problems in his glutes.
Alcaraz had initially intended to play in Basel for the second consecutive year, even after his round of 16 exit at the recent Shanghai Masters against Grigor Dimitrov. However, following medical assessment, the 20-year-old’s team decided he would be unable to compete.
The promising Spaniard has not won a tournament since his epic five-set Wimbledon final triumph over Novak Djokovic in July. Djokovic gained revenge at the Cincinnati Masters and went on to claim the US Open title. Alcaraz fell short against Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals.
After further defeats to Jannik Sinner and Dimitrov in Asia, a disappointed Alcaraz lamented “lost opportunities” to close the gap on world number one Djokovic. He trails the Serbian veteran by 2,240 points in the rankings.
With the Basel withdrawal, Alcaraz faces another obstacle in his bid to end 2023 at the top of the ATP rankings. His team will be hopeful the injury does not keep him out long-term. The next scheduled tournament is the Paris Masters starting on October 31.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
