Heading into his Japan Open debut, things got messy for Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard had just stepped off the US Open with his second title and reclaimed the World No. 1 ranking. Now he was back on tour, taking on Sebastian Baez in Tokyo. The opening round was already tricky with rain delays and wet courts. Then came the scare, Carlos slipped in the first set and sparked real concern as he looked in pain. But he’s No. 1 for a reason. He fought through and scored a straight-set victory, though the tumble left him a little rattled.

On Monday, the drama hit early. At 2-2 in the first set against Baez, Alcaraz went down hard. Stretching wide for a forehand, the 22-year-old stumbled on the baseline and clutched his left ankle and heel in agony. He stayed down, grimacing, eyes darting toward his team. The physio rushed in, taping him up during a medical timeout.

But Carlos Alcaraz played on, though the discomfort showed. “I was scared, I’m not going to lie. When I planted the ankle, I was worried, because it didn’t feel good at the beginning,” he admitted later in the post-match interview. Even so, he refused to back down. With tape stacked around his ankle and a defiant look, he pushed forward.

At first, he was cautious. His movement wasn’t sharp, but his shot-making sparked the court in flashes. Just as he steadied himself to serve for the set at 5-4, the skies greyed again. Rain rolled in, stopping play for 30 minutes. When the players returned, Alcaraz reset. He sharpened up and surged to a 6-4, 6-2 win, a gritty victory that meant more than most.

As he summed up, “I’m just happy that I was able to play after that, play such a good tennis finish the match quite good so, but lets see it’s not gonna be the next day for me, so I will try to recover and do whatever it takes, you know, to be ready for the next round to try to play and I have a good level enough to compete in the next round, but it was a bad…it was lucky, I’d say so let’s see.”

This wasn’t his first scare of the season. Back in the Barcelona final against Holger Rune, he hurt his right abductor and had to withdraw from Madrid. But Alcaraz has shown before that no injury keeps him down for long.

Last year, he faced an issue with an arm injury ahead of the French Open. Even admitting ahead of the tournament: “I’m a little bit scared about hitting every forehand 100 percent.” Despite it all, he took the 2024 Roland Garros title in the end! Isn’t that impressive?

Tokyo proved his prowess once again. Not to mention, he’s focusing on bringing some good tennis to the court. Being No.1 must add that pressure, although Alcaraz assures that is not the case!

Holding the No.1 rank does not faze Carlos Alcaraz

On September 20, the world No. 1 was caught off guard at the Laver Cup alongside Team Europe. Alcaraz, back on top of the rankings for the first time since 2023, was stopped cold by Taylor Fritz in straight sets. His 13-match streak, built on a dream summer and capped with a second US Open crown, came to an abrupt end. The numbers told the story: 19 errors off his racquet to Fritz’s 10. “It wasn’t the match that I was expecting, but I think I have to look a little bit to him that I think he played great tennis,” Alcaraz said on the ATP Tour website.

When asked if it had anything to do with the No. 1 pressure, Carlos Alcaraz shook it off. “Not really. Today I feel like I had to win the point, because the way that the day is going, with the two losses, I feel like I had to win my match,” he explained. Then came the admission: “It was a little bit of extra pressure, because of the way that the day was going on, but it wasn’t because I’m the No. 1 in the world.”

He doubled down with perspective. “I think the ranking is just a number. It shouldn’t give you the pressure that you have to win everything and every match. I’m there, but you have to still do the things that you were doing before. But with the two losses, I felt a little bit of extra pressure.”

In the end, Team Europe fell and Team World lifted the title, but Alcaraz quickly switched gears. Now, he’s all in for the Japan Open, where Zizou Bergs awaits in the round of 16. A first-ever showdown with the Belgian is on deck! Will Carlos Alcaraz overcome his injury to mark yet another deep run? Let us know in the comments!