Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed his comeback will come at the US Open, ending a five-month spell away from the ATP Tour. The Spaniard’s season has been disrupted by a wrist injury, which ruled him out of several Masters events, along with Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Now, Alcaraz is aiming to leave the injury problems behind and re-establish his rhythm at Flushing Meadows, where the final Grand Slam of the year will provide his first competitive test after the layoff.

His return, though, is not a solitary one. Alcaraz has already laid out a demanding run of tournaments and exhibitions for the months that follow, underlining just how full his calendar will be once he is back in action.

Twelve days after the US Open final, he is due to appear at the Laver Cup, where he will represent Team Europe in an attempt to reclaim the title from Team World. His line-up there includes Flavio Cobolli, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Rafael Jodar, and Jakub Mensik, with Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Alexander Bublik, Learner Tien, Alex de Minaur, and Tommy Paul named on the other side at The O2 Arena in London.

The world No 3 is also entered for the Japan Open in Tokyo, where he will defend his title, before moving on to the Shanghai Masters and the Paris Masters, two events he has yet to win. Beyond that, he is confirmed for the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia and the Sao Paulo Super Match in Brazil.

The Six Kings Slam will feature Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Zverev, Fritz, and de Minaur competing for $6 million. In Brazil, he will face Joao Fonseca in an exhibition match after the season ends.

Alcaraz is also all-but-confirmed for the ATP Finals, another tournament still missing from his list of titles. After his longest absence from tennis, the Spaniard has a crowded road ahead.

Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal has altered the picture for the 2026 US Open men’s draw, where the seeding order will be finalized before the New York major begins.

Main draw singles play at Flushing Meadows starts on 30 August, with 128 players in the men’s field and 32 seeds. The key cutoff for seeding is Monday 24 August, the final ATP Rankings update before the event. Ranking points from the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 tournament are the last ones that will count toward the US Open seedings.

Six men have withdrawn from the tournament, and Sinner plus Alejandro Davidovich Fokina are the two who would have been seeded. Sinner, the world No 1, has pulled out because of a right knee injury. His most recent match was his Wimbledon final win.

Without Sinner, Alexander Zverev is projected to move from third to second in the ATP Rankings on Monday, which would make him the top seed in New York. Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed his US Open entry after more than four months away with a right wrist injury. He is currently No 2, but he will fall to third when points from his 2025 Cincinnati Open title come off next week.

Felix Auger-Aliassime is projected as the No 3 seed, with Novak Djokovic set to be seeded fourth. Flavio Cobolli is currently projected at No 5 and could overtake Djokovic by reaching the Cincinnati final. Taylor Fritz, 10th in the Live ATP Rankings, also has a path to move ahead of Djokovic’s points total if he reaches the title match in Cincinnati.

Projected 2026 US Open ATP seedings based on ATP Live Rankings place Zverev, Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime and Djokovic at the top, followed by Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Ben Shelton and Fritz.

Carlos Alcaraz has ended the uncertainty surrounding his schedule by confirming that he will play the US Open at the end of August.

The Spaniard had been listed on several entry sheets throughout the summer after sitting out both the clay-court and grass-court swings. His preparation also drew concern when he was expected to appear at the Cincinnati Open, only to say that he was not ready in time.

That left questions hanging over his run-up to New York, but he is now set to compete at Flushing Meadows. Attention has already turned to how he will begin his final preparations once he arrives.

According to Alcaraz Updates, “ Alcaraz will have a practice session with Daniel Mérida in New York on Monday. He will depart for the US tomorrow (Saturday, 22nd August).”

Mérida has put together a strong spell on the ATP Tour in recent weeks. He reached the quarter finals of the Canadian Open after beating Tallon Griekspoor, Alex Michelsen, and Ugo Humbert, before losing to Learner Tien.

He also won Umag on clay, defeating Damir Dzumhur in the final to claim the first ATP Tour title of his career.

That form has earned him a place in Spain’s Davis Cup tie against Chile in September, a side that does not include Alcaraz.

There is also growing expectation that Alcaraz will take on more than singles duties at the US Open. He is heavily rumoured to be playing mixed doubles alongside Serena Williams.

The Mixed Doubles, which was re-formated in 2025, is staged during the US Open’s ‘Opening Week’, meaning Alcaraz could be back on court as early as Tuesday, 25th August.

He played the event last year with Emma Raducanu, but they were beaten on Arthur Ashe Stadium by Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper.

With the relaxed format designed to help singles players build match sharpness before the final Grand Slam of the year, it may also serve as an ideal lead-in to Alcaraz’s singles return. Williams, meanwhile, is yet to play mixed doubles since returning to the sport on the grass court swing. She has already played doubles with Venus Williams, Victoria Mboko, and Karolina Muchova.