• Alcaraz suffered injury in Barcelona Open first round

• ‘Tennis needs Carlos’, says fierce rival Jannik Sinner

Carlos Alcaraz has been forced to withdraw from the French Open due to the injury to his right wrist that he sustained last week in his first-round match at the Barcelona Open.

Alcaraz, a two-time French Open champion, had begun the clay-court season this month favoured to win his third successive title in Paris. After losing in the Monte Carlo Masters final to his great rival Jannik Sinner, who leapfrogged the Spaniard with his victory to reach No 1 in the rankings, the 22-year-old travelled to the Barcelona Open where he competed in his first-round match against Otto Virtanen two days later. The load on his body proved too much and he injured his wrist in the straight sets victory before withdrawing from the tournament a day later.

Smart scheduling is key to longevity and avoiding injuries, and the Spaniard has sometimes paid for his imprudence

Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence at the Monte Carlo Masters ended two Sundays ago in an intense two-set final loss to his arch-rival Jannik Sinner. While some players would have been desperate for a break after a gruelling week, Alcaraz had other plans. Less than 24 hours later, he landed back home in Spain to compete at the Barcelona ATP 500 event, immediately undertaking promotional duties. A few hours after his first practice, the following day, Alcaraz walked on to Pista Rafa Nadal for his opening match.

By the next day Alcaraz was out. He had struggled with pain in his right wrist during his first-round match, an injury that turned out to be more serious than first thought. The 22-year-old is uncertain about his return date, and whether he will be able to compete at Roland Garros. He wears a bulky immobilisation cast on his right wrist while awaiting tests on the injury.