The American swing ended on a high note for Carlos Alcaraz. Winning his second US Open title and climbing back to World No. 1? That was a dream run. Then came the Laver Cup, which didn’t go so well for Team Europe, but the Spaniard still looked to be enjoying himself. From there, he turned his focus to the next challenge: a debut at the Japan Open. Coming in as the top seed in Tokyo, expectations were high. But the weather had other plans for the champion.

Heading into his opening round at the ATP 500, the World No.1 suddenly faced chaos midway through the first set. The score was locked at 2-2 against Sebastian Baez. Alcaraz stretched wide for a forehand, but he stumbled awkwardly and went down hard on the baseline. Moments later, he clutched his left ankle and heel.

“Alcaraz seemed to have jarred his ankle at 2-2 against Baez, received a mid-game medical timeout,” Olly Tennis reported on X. The 22-year-old stayed on the court in clear pain, casting anxious glances toward his team before the physio taped up his ankle and heel during a medical timeout.

Tentative but unwilling to back down, Carlos Alcaraz returned to the court and slowly began to find his rhythm. His movement wasn’t perfect, but there were flashes of his trademark shotmaking. Just as he steadied himself to serve for the first set at 5-4, the skies opened up. Play was halted by a 30-minute rain delay. Talk about awful timing.

He was seen talking to his team about the injury, and after reviewing the video of his fall, his physio reportedly reassured him it would be okay. The Spaniard then pulled off a miracle, grinding through the pain to win the match against all odds. Alcaraz defeated Baez 6-4, 6-2, but it was far from easy. He admitted the setbacks “scared” him, yet managed to steady himself and close out the match in straight sets, booking a safe passage into the second round at the ATP 500 event.

Carlos Alcaraz opens up about his injury

After the match, Alcaraz didn’t hold back about what went through his head during that scary tumble. “I was scared too, I’m not gonna lie,” he 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. I will try to recover to do whatever it takes to be ready for the next round.” Even with the nerves, the World No.1 found a way to steady himself and pull through.

But here’s the thing, this isn’t the first injury curveball Carlos Alcaraz has dealt with this year. Back in April, he had to pull the plug on his favorite tournament in Madrid. The culprit? A right abductor or psoas muscle injury picked up during the Barcelona Open final against Holger Rune. He was honest right after the match, saying, “I felt something in my right abductor or psoas muscle.” Still, he tried to calm his fans by adding, “I’m confident it won’t hurt me for Madrid.”

But in the end, he had to officially withdraw from the Madrid Open. It turned out the left hamstring was also bothering him during the Barcelona final. “In the Barcelona final I felt something in the left hamstring, I didn’t think that it was that serious,” he explained. Missing Madrid broke his heart. “I’m really disappointed that I’m not able to play here in Madrid. It is a place that I love playing in front of my people.” For someone who thrives on the energy of home crowds, it was a tough pill to swallow.

Fast forward to now, and Alcaraz is once again pushing through. His ankle will definitely be checked, but don’t hit the panic button just yet. If there’s one thing the 22-year-old has shown, it’s that he knows how to manage his body and rise from setbacks. His next test comes Saturday when he faces Zizou Bergs.

Can the Spaniard shake it off and make a serious run at this ATP 500? What do you think, can Carlos Alcaraz dig deep again? Drop your thoughts in the comments!