Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t have asked for a better start to 2026, becoming the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam with his Australian Open triumph. But what looked like the start of another dominant season quickly unraveled. A wrist injury halted his momentum and forced him to miss two Grand Slams. But just when a comeback during the North American swing seemed within reach, another setback struck.

Despite being on the Cincinnati Masters entry list, Alcaraz has withdrawn from the event, putting his US Open participation in doubt.

“We know Carlos is doing everything he can to get back to playing tournaments as soon as possible,” tournament director Bob Moran said in a statement on Tuesday (via ESPN). “We wish him the best with his recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to Cincinnati in the future.”

The wrist injury has completely disrupted Alcaraz’s season, forcing him to miss several key tournaments, including the French Open and Wimbledon. Now, his trip to Flushing Meadows could also be in jeopardy.

The Cincinnati Masters could have provided Alcaraz with some confidence and much-needed match practice before the US Open. Having won the tournament last year, the Spaniard was expected to go on a deep run this year as well.

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Alcaraz enjoyed a dominant run at last year’s Cincinnati Masters, dropping just two sets on his way to the final while defeating the likes of Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev. The title match, however, ended in unfortunate circumstances. Jannik Sinner, who had been battling a viral illness, was forced to retire after falling behind 5-0 in the opening set, handing Alcaraz his maiden Cincinnati crown.

After being dominant and maintaining a strong fitness level throughout the 2025 season, no one could have expected that one physical setback would be enough to derail Alcaraz’s season, but that is exactly what has happened. The wrist injury is the most frustrating setback that the 23-year-old has sustained in his career. He has already had a layoff of almost four months, and it might continue even further.

The injury has already forced Alcaraz to miss two Grand Slams, and a third could soon be added to that list. Along the way, the Spaniard has also withdrawn from several key tournaments, with his prolonged absence taking a toll on his ranking. His points tally has steadily declined as he continues to pull out of events, and skipping the Cincinnati Masters will only make that slide steeper.

Carlos Alcaraz will drop a massive number of points due to his Cincinnati withdrawal

Having won the Cincinnati Masters last year, Alcaraz will drop exactly 1000 points for not playing in the upcoming edition of the event. He is currently ranked No. 2 with 8,160 points under his belt. But Zverev stands just 40 points behind him with a tally of 8,120 points.

Alcaraz is set to slip back to World No. 3 after forfeiting 1,000 ranking points by withdrawing from the Cincinnati Masters. However, his place in the top three appears safe for now, with World No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime sitting on 4,740 points. Interestingly, this won’t be the first time the Spaniard has dropped to third in the rankings this season.

Just last month, Zverev had taken over the second spot after reaching the final at Wimbledon. However, Jannik Sinner has built up a humongous 5,290-point gap between the first and second spot, which makes it incredibly hard to dethrone him from the No. 1 spot in the coming months.

Though the rankings will reset after 2026, the Spaniard’s constant loss of points this year will affect him significantly in 2027. It remains to be seen if he will be able to get back in action as the US Open rolls in from August 30.