The 2026 Wimbledon Championships began Monday at the All England Club with 16 notable players absent from the draw.
Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz withdrew to continue rehabilitation on his right wrist injury, initially sustained during the Barcelona Open in April.
>>> Former NFL Running Back Chris Johnson Diagnosed With Sporadic ALS
The world No. 2 had already missed the French Open and the clay court season.
“My recovery is going well and I’m feeling much better, but unfortunately I’m still not ready to compete,” Alcaraz posted on social media.
He described the injury as “a more serious injury than any of us expected” during his withdrawal from Barcelona.
Alcaraz emphasized the need to rest: “I have to listen to my body and avoid it affecting me in the future.”
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, the defending men’s champion, acknowledged Alcaraz’s importance to tennis.
“I think what's most important is to say that, first of all, tennis needs Carlos,” Sinner said in May.
“Tennis is a much better sport when he's around.”
Sinner added that competing alongside Alcaraz changes his view of the draw.
“For me, personally, it's nice when he's around.
It makes me look also in the draw and seeing the matches in a different way, even though if I would face Carlos it would always be in the final,” he said.
Vondrousova Serves Doping Ban
In the women’s division, 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova is absent while serving a four-year suspension from the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) for refusing an out-of-competition doping test.
