Alcaraz and a wonderful confession: "I am pain-free in my wrist, I have felt great on the court"

Carlos Navarro - 31 Aug 2026 | 23:19
Carlos Alcaraz ATP US Open 2026 Rueda de prensa
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Alcaraz spoke to the press about what today's victory means to him.

Carlos Alcaraz has laid the first stone in his attempt to achieve one more feat: conquer a new Grand Slam in his first tournament after more than four and a half months of absence. What seemed like a utopia just a week ago now feels more palpable, a less surreal horizon, all thanks to a remarkable performance in his debut at this US Open against Roman Safiullin.

Practice and competition are two different worlds, a maxim that the Murcian has reiterated numerous times. That’s why his first match after such a long time away was so tricky... and that’s why his imperial performance has been so satisfying, where, as Carlos himself mentioned, he played at his "normal speed", not losing an ounce of style and identity despite his long absence. In the press conference, Carlitos went into detail and even confessed that he had forgotten what to do during the pre-match warm-up: it was a nerve-wracking day that fortunately ended very happily.

Alcaraz shares his thoughts on his first match in the US Open and provides wonderful details

How he felt in his return to official competition

"I tried to enjoy everything I could and not think about anything else. It’s easy to say, but difficult to do. Once you step onto the court and are in an official match, in the first round, your main goal is to win. You don’t know what will happen during the match after almost four and a half months, how your body will be, your mind... it’s completely different, but I tried to take it one game at a time, feeling good, enjoying every point and the love from the crowd. I hope they enjoyed it. After the match, my body feels great. I’m very happy to have achieved it."

Is he completely pain-free in his wrist right now?

"Yes, the wrist is pain-free. I feel great. I don’t know how it looked from the outside, but from the inside, I feel like I hit the ball normally. I played normally, my tennis style: my arm and wrist felt great. Of course, I will be cautious with it these days and before matches, but I’m very happy that I finally feel no pain in my wrist."

About whether he expected to step onto the court so relaxed and show the joy he is known for, and if it deepened his feeling of missing tennis in recent months

"Honestly, today has been complicated, but at the same time very beautiful. I started the day very nervous. Very, very nervous. I kept thinking that I was going to achieve it, that I would finally compete again. I had more nerves than usual, but I was happy because my goal here is to compete, enjoy, and see how my body reacted to competition. I don’t know how far I will go in this tournament. I didn’t know if I would lose this match, if I would reach the second round, the final... I don’t know how far I will go. 

What I do want is to enjoy the feeling of stepping onto the court again, the energy of the people, the feeling of competition, waking up thinking it’s match day. That’s what I want and will do this tournament. I’m not focused on the results, and that’s why I enjoyed today so much. I’m not surprised: I came here to enjoy.

When I talked about being nervous, I said it because, in a way, I had forgotten what a match day looks like. I was warming up and couldn’t remember what I used to do during the warm-up. That’s what I mean by regaining sensations, and that’s why I was really nervous. Besides, of course, I didn’t know what was going to happen on the court, and not taking anything for granted is a tough feeling. In a way, I had forgotten what competition is like, which is why I was nervous."

About his serve, perhaps still below his usual level

"Probably the serve is the shot I’ve struggled with the most. It depends on the opponent I’m going to face. There are some players who enjoy returning serves going 200 km/h, and when you serve a bit slower than they would like, they struggle a bit. Part of the speed I served today was due to my opponent's profile, a bit of tactics. Who knows: I will try to serve better. The goal is to try to serve normally again, but it’s a shot that has always been a challenge for me, I suppose. It will come back, for sure."

Novak Djokovic's defeat in the US Open and whether it surprised him

"I saw the fifth set. It was the first time Novak has lost in the first round of this tournament. It’s a big surprise, to be honest. That someone like Novak falls in his debut is surprising. In every Grand Slam, it’s very difficult to get past each round; every opponent is tough, and you have to earn the victory from the first ball to the last. Yes, as you said, he was in my section of the draw, but that was in the semifinals. For me, the semifinals are a long way off right now; I just want to go round by round."

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz y una maravillosa confesión: "Estoy libre de dolor en la muñeca, me he sentido genial en pista"