Carlos Alcaraz drew attention earlier in the season when he said he would play fewer tournaments after spending four and a half months out with a wrist injury. Since returning to singles at the US Open, the Spaniard has moved into the quarter finals with little trouble.

After his second-round win over Jaime Faria in New York, Alcaraz made his position clear. “In the future, I’m going to take some breaks,” said Alcaraz after defeating Jaime Faria in the second round of the New York Grand Slam. Maybe not four months, but one month, two months, missing some tournaments, because it’s impossible to play them all.”

That comment led many to expect that ATP 500 events and selected Masters tournaments would be the first to disappear from his calendar. Sam Querrey and John Isner even suggested he might skip stops in Miami and Canada.

Against that backdrop, one of his earliest confirmed tournaments for 2027 comes as a surprise. Alcaraz has been announced for the Rotterdam Open, an indoor event in February after the Australian Open. The ATP 500 tournament confirmed the news on social media, writing: “First indoor title. First Rotterdam trophy. He couldn’t be there in 2026. Now he’s coming back. CARLOS ALCARAZ. ROTTERDAM. 2027.”

The Spanish star had been due to play Rotterdam this year, but his run to the Australian Open title forced him to withdraw from the indoor event. He did play there in 2025 and won the title, marking the first time he entered the Dutch tournament.

The decision is notable because Rotterdam comes quickly after the Australian Open and immediately before the Middle Eastern swing, which includes Dubai and Qatar. Those events are known to be highly lucrative for players such as Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, with both receiving $1.2 million for appearing in the ATP 500 event this year.

If he does play that stretch, Alcaraz could already have five tournaments behind him before the clay court swing begins, a demanding start that sits uneasily with his stated wish to take more time away from competition.

Jannik Sinner’s absence continues to be felt at the 2026 US Open, and the world No 1 has offered a short update on the right knee issue that forced him out of the tournament.

The 25-year-old Italian has not competed since beating Alexander Zverev in four sets in the Wimbledon championship match on 12 July. He later missed the Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati before pulling out of the US Open.

Last week, Sinner posted on Instagram and said missing the final Grand Slam of the season was “tough”. He wrote: “Missing the US Open this year is tough,” wrote Sinner. “I was looking forward to being back with the fans, seeing friends and partners.

“New York has a special place in my heart. For now, back to recovery and working to come back stronger. Good luck to all the players! See you soon”

Sinner, who is known to be a Formula One fan, was at the 2026 Italian Grand Prix on Sunday and was asked about his knee. Speaking to Italian newspaper la Repubblica, he said: “The knee? It’s all fine,”

He has not yet said when he plans to return, although he remains on the entry list for his scheduled tournaments after the US Open. Sky Sport Italy reported last month that “the primary option on the table” was a comeback during the Asian swing in Beijing and Shanghai.

Sinner is the reigning China Open champion, and the 2026 ATP 500 event in Beijing begins on 30 September.

When he announced his US Open withdrawal, Sinner said: “Even though I have been working hard with my team and my medical staff, we have now had to make the difficult decision that I will not be able to compete at the US Open this year.

“We have been back on court in Monte Carlo over the last couple of days and have realised that I still need more time to recover from my right knee issue.

“I’m obviously very sad and disappointed, as New York has a special place in my heart.”

Ajla Tomljanovic has singled out the area of Carlos Alcaraz’s game she believes has been most influenced by his wrist injury, even as the Spaniard continues to look increasingly settled at the US Open.

Alcaraz returned to competition in New York after more than four months away with a wrist problem. He first eased back through the mixed doubles before quickly finding his rhythm in singles, where his form has sharpened with each round at Flushing Meadows.

The seven-time major winner has conceded only one set in the tournament, that coming against Jaime Faria in the second round. On Sunday, he produced another strong display to defeat 20th seed Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Afterwards, the former world No 1 said, “I played my game. I tried to play my style. Tommy is such a talented player. His shots are pretty dangerous and sometimes it is really difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I just tried to be ready for a battle and tried to be aggressive all the time.

“I tried not to let him stay [high up] on the court and I think I did pretty well to put so much pressure on return games, which for me helped a lot to play relaxed, to play calm and think clearly. I’m really happy with the performance today.”

Against Paul, Alcaraz struck three aces to four, landed 75% of his first serves, won 72% of those points, and collected 44% of return points. He also finished with 33 winners compared with Paul’s 18.

Alcaraz later said he felt he was back to full physical power, and he now moves on to face Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.

Tomljanovic, speaking on the Big T podcast, suggested the forehand may already be back to an even higher level, while the serve still appears affected. She said, “It’s really impressive to me that apparently Carlos is hitting it harder than pre injury, whereas his serve hasn’t yet gotten to the miles per hour that we’ve seen pre injury.

“So clearly it tells us that the wrist issue must have been more present on the serve.”

Brad Gilbert was more encouraged by what he has seen, pointing to signs that Alcaraz is improving both physically and mentally as he trusts the wrist again.