Carlos Alcaraz makes winning US Open return after four-month injury lay-off

By SABC Sport
1st September 2026

Carlos Alcaraz marked his return to competitive tennis with a convincing first-round victory at the 2026 US Open on Monday.

The reigning US Open champion defeated world No 99 Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

World No 3 Alcaraz, seeded second at Flushing Meadows, was playing his first singles match since suffering a right wrist injury at the Barcelona Open on 14 April.

The Spaniard was broken just once - falling 0-2 behind in the second set - but immediately hit back to level. A single break was enough to secure both the first and third sets.

The manner of Alcaraz's victory was particularly impressive given the quality of his opponent and the fact that he had spent more than four months on the sidelines.

Speaking on court afterwards, Alcaraz said: "This has been a really tough five months. To be able to step onto Arthur Ashe and compete again means so much. I couldn't have picked a better tournament than here in New York."

"It's a really special place and tournament for me. I missed the crowd, the energy, and the competition. I'm just really happy I was able to get back out there and compete again.

"There were some doubts in the match, I'm not going to lie. Thinking about if I would last the match, best of five, playing four or five sets.

"I had a little bit of doubt, but I tried to forget everything and focus on the things I needed to improve. I thought about what would happen in the match and physically I felt really well."

The seven-time Grand Slam champion went on to express his confidence that he will "get better and better after every day."

"The level of tennis has got to be better. I'm happy with the levelled I played in my first official match in four months," said the 23-year-old.

"I'm proud about it. But I need more matches under the belt, get into the rhythm of the tournament. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get better and better after every day.

"I'm most proud of mentally being able to deal with the nerves and doubts."