Top Seed Carlos Alcaraz Retires Due to Ankle Injury in Rio Open Opener

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz suffered a sudden setback in his campaign at the Rio Open presented by Claro as he retired due to an ankle injury just two points into his opening-round match against Thiago Monteiro. The Spaniard’s hopes of a strong start to the tournament were dashed as he suffered a significant injury early on.

After an unfortunate incident on court where Alcaraz rolled his ankle, ATP physio Alejandro Resnicoff provided treatment but it wasn’t enough to keep the World No. 2 in the game. Despite trying to soldier on, Alcaraz was forced to retire from the match due to the severity of the injury.

The injury not only puts Alcaraz’s participation in doubt for the rest of the Rio Open but also raises concerns about his ability to defend his No. 2 Pepperstone ATP Ranking from the challenge posed by the surging Italian player, Jannik Sinner. With the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells looming, Alcaraz faces a race against time to recover.

Having won the Rio Open title in 2022 and finished as the runner-up in the previous edition, Alcaraz had high hopes for this year’s tournament. However, the unexpected injury has thrown a spanner in the works for the talented Spaniard.

Reflecting on the incident, Monteiro expressed his surprise at the severity of the injury, noting that it was a quick turn of events for Alcaraz. With a 2-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead now over Alcaraz, Monteiro continues his impressive run against the top players in the ATP circuit.