Carlos Alcaraz sparks concern with update after injury scare at Japan Open

Fresh off his sixth Grand Slam title at the US Open, where he defeated Jannik Sinner in the final, Carlos Alcaraz entered the Japan Open as the top seed and clear favorite. But his opening-round match in Tokyo came with a scare that left fans and his camp momentarily holding their breath.

The World No. 1 secured a 6-4, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, but the victory wasn’t without drama. Early in the first set, with the score tied at 2-2, Baez hit a delicate dropshot that forced Alcaraz into a quick sprint. As the Spaniard lunged for the ball, he felt sharp pain in his foot and collapsed to the court.

The crowd inside Ariake Coliseum fell silent as Alcaraz grimaced in pain and remained on the ground. After receiving medical attention from the physio on the sidelines, he was able to continue the match and eventually close it out comfortably—but not without some doubt along the way.

“I couldn’t do anything at all during the first five minutes [after] I did it,” Alcaraz said, per the ATP’s official website. “I was worried that I wouldn’t have the confidence to finish the match, but the physio came and did some tests. It was good I could walk to the bench and that gave me confidence [to continue]”.

The Spaniard sparked further concern when discussing his recovery process, admitting it will have to be managed “day by day” to see how it evolves. Still, he emphasized that he’ll do everything possible to be in top shape for his second-round matchup against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs.

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“Let’s see, it’s not gonna be easy the next day, day and a half for me. So I will try to recover, to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next round, to try to play and have a good level enough to compete in the next round. But it was a bad… it was unlucky, I’d say. So let’s see,” he added.

Alcaraz admits he feared the worst

It wasn’t just Alcaraz’s team and the fans inside Ariake Coliseum who feared the worst when the Spaniard went down. Alcaraz himself admitted he was shaken by the pain and unsure whether he’d be able to continue.

“I was scared too, I’m not gonna lie,” Alcaraz admitted. “When I planted the ankle, I was worried, because it didn’t feel good at the beginning. I’m just happy that I was able to play good tennis after that and finish the match quite good”.