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An injured Carlos Alcaraz of Spain watches his bother Jaime Alcaraz of Spain while he plays Poi Mas Tabuena of Spain in the Mutua Madrid

World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has not yet been cleared to return from his wrist injury, which will force him to miss the upcoming Wimbledon. However, the Spaniard is seemingly inching closer to his return.

Last week, the seven-time major winner shared an encouraging injury update on Instagram that included a video of him hitting some balls while training at his academy and also sprinting on a race track. Notably, Alcaraz could be seen using his right wrist while hitting balls, which many perceived to be a positive sign in his return.

The update came shortly after Alcaraz was seen supporting his younger brother, Jaime Alcaraz, at the 2026 ATP Junior Tour Madrid Open at the Caja Magica in Madrid. Although he had a protective brace on his wrist, the 23-year-old appeared in good spirits while cheering for his brother — another positive sign in his injury return.

Carlos Alcaraz Injury Update

Alcaraz sustained an inflamed tendon sheath injury in his right wrist at the Barcelona Open in April, forcing him to withdraw from the Madrid Open, Italian Open, French Open and Queen’s Club Championships. There was initially optimism that he would be cleared for Wimbledon until he announced his decision to skip the grass-court major for the first time in his career — putting a damper on this year’s Championships draw.

Several insiders expect Alcaraz to be ready for the North American hard-court swing in August, starting with the Canadian Open and leading into the U.S. Open, where he will defend his title after beating Jannik Sinner in last year’s final at Flushing Meadows.

Carlos Alcaraz Injury: A Wake-Up Call?

With Alcaraz missing over four months of action for the first time in his young career, former World No. 3 Olga Morozova has sounded alarms on other players dealing with similar injuries if they continue to go full-throttle with their baseline shots.

“I want to say about Alcaraz: he has amazing technique, but his tennis is very wrist-based,” Morozova told Russian website Championat last week.

“And what happened to his wrist should be a wake-up call to all coaches not to copy this technique,” added the former French Open and Wimbledon finalist.

Injury prevention expert Stephen Smith, though, pushed back on Morozova’s theory, explaining that Alcaraz’s wrist injury was not

“It depends on how much damage had occurred through something like that,” Smith told Tennis365 of tennis players relying heavily on their wrists.

“If it’s the tendon sheath, that’s generally indicative of the fact that it’s not a major issue,” he continued. “If it was the tendon itself, that can be much more of a problem. But the sheath is basically the sleeve that surrounds it; that generally is indicative of a minor level of inflammation, or irritation, or strain.

“If it’s just the sheath, [that is] generally indicative of the fact that it might be an over-stretch, might be a slight strain. A small amount of inflammation that can be dealt with quite easily. They can strap those and take some pressure off and deload around that. So, much more manageable, I would suggest.”

With Alcaraz sidelined, Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming betting favorite to repeat as Wimbledon champion. The Italian is dealing with health issues of his own after suffering a collapse at Roland Garros due to dehydration and cramping.