Carlos Alcaraz in need of treatment after double injury blow, puts rest of 2023 in doubt

Carlos Alcaraz has announced his withdrawal from next week’s Swiss Indoors due to a double injury blow. This has also put a doubt on the rest of his 2023 season.

Alcaraz took to social media to announce that he will not take part in Basel this year. He made his debut at the ATP 500 tournament in 2022, where he earned three wins before losing to eventual champion Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals.

"Unfortunately I will not be able to play in Basel this year! I have a problem with the plantar fascia in my left foot and muscle fatigue in my lower back which need treatment so I can play the rest of the season. I hope to see you all soon! @swissindoorsbasel_official," he said in a post on Instagram.

The tournament organizers also confirmed Alcaraz's withdrawal in a statement soon after.

"Alcaraz had to cancel his start at the Swiss Indoors today due to an injury. According to his doctor’s bulletin, the world number two is suffering from an inflammation of the sole of his left foot and problems in his gluteal muscles," Basel organizers said.

His withdrawal also meant a direct entry into the main draw for Stan Wawrinka, who had initially received a wildcard. This also meant the tournament organizers awarded the main draw wildcard to Swiss player World No. 159 Leandro Reidi instead.

This is the latest blow in Alcaraz's fight for the year-ending World No. 1 ranking. He is currently 500 points behind Nova Djokovic, and a win in Basel would have seen him go level with the Serbian heading into the Paris Masters.

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Roger Federer: "Carlos Alcaraz is great, mighty impressive"

Carlos Alcaraz is a two-time Grand Slam champion.

Roger Federer recently heaped praise on Carlos Alcaraz and stated that he had an unbelievable future ahead of him.

Alcaraz established himself as one of the best players on the ATP tour last year, winning five titles, including a maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. He also clinched the World No. 1 ranking for the first time.

This season, the Spaniard has done slightly better, winning six titles, including the Wimbledon Championships, where he defeated four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the final.

On the latest episode of the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast, Federer praised Alcaraz, saying:

"Alcaraz is great. I mean, look, he's still young and everything that he has achieved is fantastic and also not just on clay or just on hard, you know. But also now winning Wimbledon against Novak in the final, that is that is no joke. I mean he didn't need to really prove that point but that's another super asterisk in his CV. Mighty impressive."