"That's too bad" - Martina Navratilova reacts to Carlos Alcaraz's ATP Finals withdrawal

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has reacted to Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal from the 2022 ATP Finals, expressing her disappointment about the unfortunate decision.

Alcaraz was up against his childhood doubles partner Holger Rune in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Paris Masters, hoping to secure his year-end World No. 1 spot with a deep run at the tournament. However, the young Spaniard withdrew during the second set of the match owing to an abdominal injury, which will take at least six weeks to recover from according to the latest diagnosis.

"After my withdrawal yesterday and having been evaluated by my medical team, unfortunately this is the result of my injury: an internal oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks," Alcaraz said later.

The 19-year-old went on to announce his withdrawal from the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals as a result, thus ending his 2022 season.

"Unfortunately, I won't make the ATP Finals or the Davis Cup Finals," he wrote on Twitter. "It is tough and painful for me to miss these two events, which are so important to me, but all I can do is be positive and focus on my recovery. Thank you for the support!"

In the aftermath of this announcement, Navratilova joined a slew of other well-known names in lamenting Alcaraz's withdrawal from the year-end championships.

"That’s too bad," she wrote on Twitter.

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"A lot of things changed but I didn't change myself" - Carlos Alcaraz on winning the 2022 US Open

Carlos Alcaraz at a press conference during Rolex Paris Masters.

During a press conference at the Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz discussed how winning the 2022 US Open impacted his life. He claimed that while many things have changed, he has not changed as a person; the Spaniard believes that only the tennis part of his life has undergone a massive shift.

"Well, I didn't change at all. I just had -- well, a lot of things changed but I didn't change myself, you know, as a person," Alcaraz said. "I think that the people who are around me, my family, my team, my friends, I mean, nothing change with them, with my normal life, let's say. Of course, I mean, the media, the fans, let's say, that's part of course change a lot, but in my normal life, let's say nothing change."

Alcaraz went on to admit that while winning a Grand Slam and rising to the top of the world were both his goals, he never imagined achieving them at the age of 19.

"It was my dream to win a Grand Slam, to become No. 1 of the world, but I didn't expect to do that at 19 years old, you know. Everything came so fast, faster than I could imagine," he said. "Yeah, right now I can realize what I did, my dream came true, but of course it was unexpected."