This is the plan that Alcaraz will carry out for his ankle injury

Jose Morón | 25 Sep 2025 | 18.20

This is the plan that Alcaraz will carry out for his ankle injury. Photo: Getty

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The tennis world held its breath when it saw Carlos Alcaraz sprawled on the ground during his match against Báez in the first round of the ATP Tokyo. Not seeing any strange gestures worried even more, in case it was something really serious. Finally, the player from Murcia managed to get up and finish his match, although enduring some ankle pain.

That's what he himself confessed at the end of the match. “I was scared, I won't lie. I was worried because I didn't feel well at first. I was able to finish the match and play well, and that reassures me,” he confessed, somewhat relieved and with a slight smile on his face. Alcaraz knows that the next few hours will be crucial to find out the condition of his ankle.

In the video, we can see the exact moment when Carlitos gets injured. In a change of direction, his left ankle makes a strange movement, and the player from El Palmar immediately felt the pull. It's not the first time Alcaraz has sprained his ankle. Throughout his still young career, he has experienced problems in this joint.

He twisted his ankle going down stairs at the Conde de Godó in 2022 and sprained his right ankle during the Madrid tournament the same year, having to play the last rounds of that tournament with an injection. Later on, he also had another sprain at the US Open last year during training, and the most notable one was in Rio de Janeiro, also in 2024, which forced him to retire in his debut.

Action plan to be ready for the next round in Tokyo

After finishing his obligations following the match against Báez, Carlitos went to be treated by his physiotherapist, Juanjo Moreno, who gave him a massage in the area to prepare for the injury suffered. The aim is to reduce inflammation in the ankle and prepare for the best rest. According to his own feelings, it seems that the pain hasn’t escalated, and the sensations are not entirely bad.

Nevertheless, this Friday, when Alcaraz wakes up, he will see the condition of the joint, and he can then make a decision. In this kind of injury, ‘the day after’ is very important when the adrenaline from the match subsides, and the area cools down. It will be then when the player from Murcia will know if he will be able to compete in his second match in Japanese lands.

In case the pain is too intense or he wakes up with a very swollen ankle, Carlos can consider undergoing medical tests right there to assess the extent of the possible injury, knowing that his debut in the Shanghai tournament would be scheduled just eight days later and that a relatively serious problem would cast doubt on his participation there. This would mean he would not play in the second round in Tokyo.

If the feelings are good or not too bad, he will follow a treatment from Juanjo Moreno and choose to rest to be as ready as possible for the match against Bergs, scheduled for this Saturday.

Alcaraz does not want to withdraw from a tournament like Tokyo, where he is making his debut and has been warmly welcomed, but he knows that forcing the joint if he is not in good condition could jeopardize his participation in the final stretch of the season, where he aims to arrive in great shape for the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup, his two main objectives for the remainder of the year.

This Friday will be crucial to find out if Carlitos woke up in good condition, and in the last hours of Friday or the first ones on Saturday, we will learn the final decision of the player from Murcia regarding whether he will play his second round in Tokyo. Forcing it at a time like this and in a 500, if he is not physically well, does not seem like the best idea, so we will see what decision Alcaraz makes after today's events in the capital of Japan.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Este es el plan que realizará Alcaraz de cara a su lesión de tobillo