Carlos Alcaraz says he is “heartbroken” after withdrawing from Spain’s Davis Cup finals squad due to injury.
World number one Alcaraz, 22, who was beaten by Yannik Sinner at the ATP Finals on Sunday, said he had been advised not to compete due to swelling in his right hamstring.
Spain faces the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Bologna, Italy, on Thursday.
Spain’s Alcaraz, who won the French and US Opens this year, took his career Grand Slam total to six, he wrote on Instagram, external Playing for his country is “the greatest thing”, adding: “I go home heartbroken…”
World No. 2 Sinner – a four-time Grand Slam winner – and teammate Lorenzo Musetti are both absent from the Italian team, leaving world No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany as the only top-10 player in the eight-team final.
The Spanish Tennis Federation said Alcaraz felt “physical discomfort” in the back of his thigh during the first set of his 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 loss to 24-year-old Sinner in the Turin final.
Alcaraz traveled to Spain’s training camp on Monday, but medical tests revealed he had a “severe muscle strain and significant edema” in his hamstring.
Last week, he entered the knockout stage of the ATP Finals with three consecutive victories and firmly ranked first in the world at the end of the year.
