Carlos Alcaraz‘s two-month absence has left a major void on tour. The Spaniard has already been out of action for almost two months now and won’t be playing at Wimbledon either. As a result, his absence has left many gutted, but none like former ATP pro John McEnroe.

“I was depressed and disappointed that Carlos was not at Roland Garros,” McEnroe said on the latest episode of the ‘Off Court with Greg Rusedski’ podcast. “He is the best representative we have for our sport right now, and for what he brings to the game. Thus, his absence really hurts.”

It was at his home event in Barcelona that Alcaraz had picked up a wrist injury. Though the blow was expected to be nothing serious at first, the test results told a completely different story. Turns out the 23-year-old was dealing with wrist tenosynovitis, a painful inflammation of the fluid-filled sheath surrounding the tendons in the wrist and thumb.

Though recovering from wrist tenosynovitis could take about 4-6 weeks, returning to a high-level activity like tennis can take about 3-6 months.

The setback has already led to his second-longest absence from the tour, and it is the most serious injury that the Spaniard has sustained yet. Previously, he had to stay away from the tour for roughly four months in late 2022 due to an abdominal tear and a subsequent hamstring injury, which forced him to pull out of the 2023 Australian Open.

However, the wrist injury is the first one that led Alcaraz to miss two consecutive Grand Slams as well as the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Italy. These withdrawals have affected the Spaniard’s ranking points majorly as well.

After losing the World No. 1 ranking to Jannik Sinner following the defeat in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, Alcaraz lost 1000 points for not participating in the Italian Open, because of the standard ATP Tour ranking rules, which state that all ranking points are kept for exactly 52 weeks.

Alcaraz then lost 2000 points for missing out on the French Open. Additionally, he will lose 500 points for not participating in the HSBC Championships and will then drop 1,300 points for not playing Wimbledon. He currently stands in the No. 2 spot with a points tally of 9,960, but will drop down to third if the new French Open champion, Alexander Zverev (7,305 points), ends up having a successful grass swing.

Carlos Alcaraz’s absence could shake up Wimbledon results

John McEnroe believes that Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the Roland Garros did play a role in a new singles champion being crowned. “We had two crazy weeks in Paris, which, in a way, made up for his absence. The door opened because people who did not think they would find themselves in this position had an opportunity,” he added on the podcast.

However, the same can very well happen at Wimbledon.

With the Spaniard out of the tournament, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner would undoubtedly be the favorite to clinch the title at SW19. But a major opportunity could open up for a different player if hurdles like Zverev and Novak Djokovic somehow fall in Sinner’s half of the draw.

With Alcaraz missing, there are possibilities that an underdog can rise through the ranks with the luck of an easy draw and be crowned the new prince of SW19.