Carlos Alcaraz has now gone through his longest spell away from the ATP Tour after the wrist injury he picked up at the Barcelona Open in April.

The injury has kept him out for 151 days and has already ruled him out of Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and three Masters events on the ATP Tour calendar. His comeback will take even longer, with Alcaraz confirming that he has also pulled out of what had been lined up as his return at the Cincinnati Open.

There has been talk of a wildcard appearance at the Winston-Salem Open, but the likeliest stage for his comeback now appears to be the US Open at the end of August.

A return at Grand Slam level would not be straightforward. Andy Murray offered a clear reminder of how difficult wrist injuries can be when he reflected on his own experience later in his career.

“Wrists aren’t easy,” said Murray toward the end of his career. “When the ball is low you know you really have to use your wrist to get the ball up and down, or when the ball is coming fast and quite high you need to use your wrist a lot to bring the ball down.

“It’s difficult when you try to come back [from a wrist injury], because the pain that you feel when you initially hurt it, mentally it’s very difficult to let go of.”

James Ross, a physiotherapist who works at Grand Slams, has also pointed to the likelihood of repeat problems after a previous injury.

“The biggest risk of injury is a previous injury – if you have had it once, you are more likely to have it in the future”, Ross explained in an interview with BBC Sport.

“If a player can get back over a period of a few months and they don’t have a reoccurrence, generally they will be ok,” he said. But some things can become chronic and the pressure of the sport to come back, earn money by playing, and keep your ranking points, is a risk.”

For Alcaraz, the decision to step away from Cincinnati may ultimately be the sensible one. It suggests he is taking his body seriously rather than forcing a return before he is ready.

Novak Djokovic’s recent comments on tennis scoring have sparked debate, and Joao Fonseca has now responded with his own perspective.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has argued for several changes to the sport, including sets played to four games instead of six, a format already used at the NextGen Finals. He also proposed removing the advantage point and placing a two-hour limit on matches, saying those adjustments would be “best for everyone”.

Fonseca, who was asked about the subject at the Canadian Open, pointed to his experience in the NextGen Finals when weighing up the idea. Speaking about his time playing in the NextGen Finals, the Brazilian said: “Well, I had a good time playing 4 games, 4-game sets in the Next Gen. So I can’t complain about it.”

The Brazilian won the event in 2024 after beating Learner Tien in the final, a result that helped establish him as one of the most exciting young players on the ATP Tour. He then suggested Djokovic’s push for reform may be linked to the physical demands of the game.

“But I think he’s saying that because of his physique, you know. He’s getting older. Well, that’s what I can say,” said Fonseca in a brutal put-down.

He expanded on that point by stressing the importance of the traditional format. “I mean, I don’t say bad things or good things, but I know it’s more about the classic tennis, the history of tennis and the tennis being 6 games during the sets, it’s important.

“I think it’s classic tennis. It’s the history of tennis,” added the teenager. “So, yeah. But I can’t complain because I had good results with it.”

Fonseca was speaking after recording his first win at the Canadian Open. He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the third round, where Casper Ruud awaits in a rematch of their Roland Garros meeting.

Their previous clash came in the fourth round of the French Grand Slam, a controversial four-set match that went Fonseca’s way after a missed out call would have given Ruud the third set. Fonseca had never before advanced beyond the first round in Montreal, so this already marks a career-best showing at the event.

He is currently world No 26 in the ATP Tour rankings, two places shy of his career high, and another step forward in Montreal would add to that progress.

Novak Djokovic’s suggestion for sweeping changes to tennis rules has drawn a mixed reaction, with fans, players, and pundits all weighing in on the idea. In a recent interview, Djokovic pushed for a revised points structure that would also suit his own push for another Grand Slam title.

Speaking to Nick Knows Ball, Djokovic said he wanted tennis to “not play up to six games in the set, play it up to four, possibly no advantage. Best of five sets, keep the matches within a two hour window. It’s best for everyone.”

Kim Clijsters has already disagreed with the proposal, though Ben Shelton offered a more open response to the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s thinking.

At his post-match press conference at the Canadian Open, Shelton said: “I think it could be cool. It was interesting coming from him, because he’s always been the guy who’s the fittest on tour, the guy that can last five hours, six hours, doesn’t matter.

“But I think it would be an interesting change, for sure. I think tennis is certainly a traditional sport, and tournaments like to stick with their traditions, but I would be interested to play some matches in this format.

“I thought it was cool the way they did it at the Next Gen finals. I like the five-set format. Whether it’s a shortened or a full format, I think could be cool.”

Shelton’s comments came after he opened his Canadian Open campaign with a win over Jenson Brooksby in the second round. The American entered the tournament as the defending champion and has already benefited from a series of early exits and withdrawals around the draw.

Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, and Flavio Cobolli all fell in the second round, while Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Djokovic, and Felix Auger-Aliassime withdrew before or ahead of their first matches.

That has left Shelton among the leading contenders for the title. He began the event as the fifth seed but is already the second highest ranked player remaining, behind Alex de Minaur.

Next, he faces Zizou Bergs in the round of 32, their first meeting since 2024. The winner will move on to meet either Casper Ruud or Joao Fonseca in the fourth round.