Recovering from his wrist injury, there’s no doubt that Carlos Alcaraz would have been chomping at the bit to get back on the court, especially during Wimbledon this year. The Spaniard has already made some beautiful memories at SW19, during which the seven-time Major champion followed a specific warm-up schedule. Given that the former World No. 1 has confirmed that, for next year, fans will hope that Alcaraz has his eyes set on a third title at the All England Club.

The Queen’s Club Championships made the official announcement of Alcaraz being part of the singles draw for next year on its official X page. This would be the fourth Queen’s appearance for Alcaraz, who had previously featured in the event for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025.

For Alcaraz, playing at Queen’s is a tried-and-tested method, as the Spaniard won the title twice in 2023 and 2025. In 2023, the Queen’s title proved to be the ideal launchpad for the Spaniard to hold the Wimbledon trophy a few weeks later, where he beat Djokovic in an epic five-set final. 2025 saw a similar pattern as well, with Alcaraz clinching the second Queen’s title. Even though he did not win the Wimbledon title that year, the Spaniard had a credible runner-up finish to Jannik Sinner in a close four-set final.

With Queen’s being played in London as well, players have time to acclimatize to the city ahead of their Wimbledon campaigns. The venue is in West Kensington, not far from SW19, which solves many logistical issues for the players in question. Moreover, players get a sense of the tactics needed, as the surface at the Queen’s is quite similar to that of Wimbledon in terms of ball bounce and speed.

In terms of the surface, it is the biggest challenge for players during the grass-court season. Players slipping and falling during the Queen’s Club Championships is quite a common sight, with the likes of Frances Tiafoe retiring from his match against Rinki Hijikata in 2024 after slipping. While male players escaped any major injury this year, the 2026 edition saw the likes of Victoria Mboko, Emma Raducanu, and Alexandra Eala all have bad falls, with the Canadian still out with a knee injury.

Given that there are few warm-up grass-court events ahead of Wimbledon, events like Queen’s have always attracted top stars, with the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic occasionally playing during their haydays. The most prolific of them all was Andy Murray, who won the event five times and used the momentum to have title-winning runs at Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.

While Alcaraz is already making plans for the next season, 2026 still has some challenges left for the Spaniard, including both his Tour-level and national-level commitments.

2026 Still Has Some Carlos Alcaraz Action Left

Having missed a significant part of the season, Alcaraz will be looking to get a strong finish to the season. The Spaniard’s next event will be in Vienna, where he is making a comeback after five years and will look to get into rhythm on the indoor hard courts, a surface on which the Spaniard’s results have historically been under par.

The stint in Basel would prepare Alcaraz for the high-profile events at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals. That won’t be all for the Spaniard, as he has been named in the Spanish lineup for the Davis Cup Finals as well. As per his own admissions, the Davis Cup is a title he has his sights set on, as Alcaraz talked about winning for his country after winning the Australian Open this year.

“The Davis Cup, it is a goal as well,” said Alcaraz in his post-match press conference after the Australian Open final. “I really wanted to achieve that for my country, for Spain. I set up some other goals for the season, and I will try to be ready for, or to try to get those goals.”

Despite Alcaraz’s absence, the Spanish team reached the Davis Cup final last year, losing to Italy. With the likes of Rafael Jodar and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina as singles backups, and a doubles specialist, Marcel Granollers, in the ranks, the team will be hopeful that Alcaraz makes it to Bologna this time and helps deliver a seventh title for his country.