Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Australian Open on Friday because of an injured right leg.
The 19-year-old from Spain wrote on social media that he got hurt “through a chance, unnatural movement in training.”
Alcaraz won the U.S. Open last September and moved atop the ATP rankings. That allowed him to become the youngest man to finish a season at No. 1 since the computerized men’s tennis rankings began a half-century ago.
This is his second significant setback in recent months, though. Alcaraz cut short his season in November after tearing an abdominal muscle while competing at the Paris Masters. That forced him to withdraw from the ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals.
Still, he closed out 2022 with a record of 57-13 and five singles titles.
“I’d worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won’t be able to play” at a tuneup event in Kooyong or the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, Alcaraz wrote on Twitter.
“It’s tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward,” he wrote.
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