Mutua Madrid Open tournament director Feliciano Lopez has warned that Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist problem could threaten the Spaniard’s clay-court run as the season moves toward Rome and Roland Garros.

Lopez, a former player who spoke to Radioestadio Noche, described the injury as “a typical tennis injury” and compared it to his own experience. “I’ve had that injury… I was out for two months, more or less,” Lopez said on Monday. “I’m not sure the extent of his injury. I was out for two months, but when I had to stop I could barely hold a racquet in my hand. He was able to finish the match and have a few days (to rest).”

The problem forced Alcaraz to withdraw from Barcelona after one match and to skip his home Masters 1000 event in Madrid. It arrives after an uneven clay swing that included a run to the Monte Carlo final, where he lost to Jannik Sinner and Sinner regained the world No. 1 ranking. In Barcelona Alcaraz won his opening match but played with heavy strapping on his wrist before ultimately withdrawing.

Lopez said he had not been in direct contact with Alcaraz or the player’s medical staff, but he underlined the timing and the ranking stakes. “I wish him the best and I hope he recovers as soon as possible, because this is an important season for him,” Lopez added. “It’s true that Carlos can win on any court, but there’s Madrid, another Masters 1000 in Rome, and Roland Garros, where he’s the defending champion. So there are 4,000 points at stake in three very prestigious tournaments.

“So Madrid is out, Rome seems almost impossible to me. Hopefully he will be fit for Roland Garros.”

Concern grew after new photos showed Alcaraz wearing a rigid splint on his wrist and forearm. The images, shared on social media by Los Chopos, show straps fixing the hand and wrist in place, a device typically used for fractures, severe sprains, ligament injuries or post-surgical immobilization. He was also seen wearing a wrist brace during a recent outing in Albacete.

The 2026 Mutua Madrid Open draw sets the stage for Jannik Sinner as he pursues a fifth consecutive Masters 1000 title and his first at the Caja Magica. Sinner, the world No. 1, received a first-round bye and will open against a qualifier. He reclaimed the top ranking from Carlos Alcaraz by winning the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, and with both Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic absent from the draw due to injuries, a new challenger must emerge to halt his 17-match winning streak.

Two Americans stand out as potential obstacles. Tommy Paul, the 15th seed, could meet Sinner in the fourth round. Paul began the clay season by winning the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston. Ben Shelton, the No. 4 seed, is on course to meet Sinner in the semifinals and arrives fresh off a BMW Open title in Munich. Shelton’s Munich win was the biggest clay-court title for a U.S. man since Andre Agassi’s run to the Rome title in 2002, months before Shelton was born.

Paul will open against either Roberto Bautista Agut, who is competing in his final season, or Thiago Tirante. Shelton faces either Raphael Collignon or Matteo Berrettini in his opening match.

The top half of the draw also features Barcelona champion Arthur Fils, who anchors a quarter that includes 2025 finalist Jack Draper and No. 6 seed Lorenzo Musetti. With Alcaraz absent, Alexander Zverev is the No. 2 seed and will play his first match against Nuno Borges or Mariano Navone. Zverev has produced consistent results during the 2026 season but has tended to falter in the late rounds, most recently at his home tournament in Munich.

Also sharing Zverev’s quarter are No. 17 seed Learner Tien and No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev is seeking to recover after a rare 6-0, 6-0 loss in Monte Carlo. With several clay-form winners and higher seeds missing, the draw leaves room for new narratives as Sinner attempts to extend his streak in Madrid.

Jannik Sinner ended Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence with a straight-sets victory in the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final on Sunday, prevailing 7-6(5), 6-3. The match was the rivals’ first head-to-head meeting of 2026 and delivered a landmark result for Sinner on clay.

The win provided Sinner with his first Masters 1000 title on clay and his eighth Masters 1000 crown overall. By taking the Monte-Carlo trophy he completed a run that included Indian Wells and Miami earlier in the season, becoming the second man, alongside Novak Djokovic 11 years ago in 2015, to win those three events in the same season.

Sinner’s triumph also returns him to the top of the rankings. He will begin his 67th week at world No. 1 on Monday. The Monte-Carlo final underlined Sinner’s consistency through the early part of the season and his capacity to convert hard-court success into major results on clay.

Alcaraz arrived at the tournament as the defending champion but was unable to overturn Sinner in their latest encounter. The final scoreline reflected a tight opening set decided in a tiebreak before Sinner imposed himself in the second set to close out the match.

This victory in Monte Carlo further cements Sinner’s standing at the top of the game in 2026 and marks a notable clay-court milestone in his career. The achievement of winning Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo in a single season places him alongside a rare group of players who have combined the early hard-court masters events with the Monte-Carlo title in the same year.