Carlos Alcaraz has been forced to withdraw from the Barcelona Open after experiencing wrist pain during his opening-round match at the ATP 500 event.

The Spaniard collected a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Finn Otto Virtanen during his first Barcelona match, but appeared extremely worried at the end of the first set.

Alcaraz received a medical timeout and was treated around his forearm and wrist area – saying, in Spanish, that he was experiencing pain every time he hit a forehand.

Alcaraz’s withdrawal mans that Tomas Machac will move into the quarter-finals and will next play either Andrey Rublev or Lorenzo Sonego.

“It’s a more serious injury than we all expected, and I have to listen to my body so it doesn’t affect me in the future,” the Spaniard stated during his withdrawal press conference.

“With great sadness, I have to return home and recover as quickly as possible for the upcoming tournaments.”

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Less than 24 hours prior to his arrival in Barcelona, Alcaraz had competed in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he was the defending champion.

Unfortunately for the six-time Grand Slam champion, it was rival Jannik Sinner who was victorious 7-6(5), 6-3 – the Italian’s first clay-court Masters 1000 title.

Additionally, Sinner’s trophy lift allowed him to leapfrog Alcaraz’s ranking and retake the world No 1 spot for the first time since mid-2025.

After his first-round victory, he sought to quell any concerns during his press conference and compared it to forearm pain, which he had experienced during the clay-court season two years ago.

“It’s just discomfort, discomfort that pops up, considering the few days I’ve had to recover, when everything has been practically back-to-back, so in the end things come up in some unusual movements,” the world No 2 stated.

“We’ve tried to calm ourselves down, try to keep going, and above all, be more relaxed, especially in the second set, and see what happens.

“It’s a discomfort I’ve had before, which has never led to anything more serious, so let’s hope it’s the same this time.”

Aside from his injury woes, the Spaniard also commented on the struggles of sticking to his schedule – given his Monaco success.

“Well, to be honest, it’s been tough, it’s been a bit of a struggle,” he stated.

“In the end, my first contact with Barcelona was this morning, for about an hour, and then I had to jump right onto the court to compete, and the conditions are completely different.”

The Barcelona Open withdrawal also means that Alcaraz will drop 255 ranking points, after having made the showpiece match at last year’s edition (losing out to Holger Rune).

Monte-Carlo Masters champion Jannik Sinner will now enter the Madrid Masters with a 390-point lead at the top of the rankings.

Neither played in the Spanish capital last season, meaning – if both participate – there is a full 1000 ranking points on offer.

The Madrid Masters takes place from April 22 – May 3, and will feature a 128-player draw.