Carlos Alcaraz confirms 2026 U.S. Open return via soccer transfer insider Fabrizio Romano

Carlos Alcaraz will return in New York, from a wrist injury that has sidelined him since April. Credit: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images

By Matthew Futterman Aug. 20, 2026 | Updated Aug. 21, 2026 9:23 am EDT Share article | 37

“I’m coming back. Here we go.”

With those six words, Carlos Alcaraz bent the tennis universe back his way Thursday, heralding his return to the sport after a four-month absence due to a wrist injury.

Alcaraz, the seven-time Grand Slam champion who has been sidelined since April, announced his return at the U.S. Open in a collaboration post with soccer transfer figure Fabrizio Romano, even incorporating the Italian's signature catchphrase: “Here we go.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fabrizio Romano (@fabriziorom)

Defending Champion in New York

The 23-year-old Spaniard is the defending champion in New York. Assuming his wrist remains healthy over the next week, he will look to renew his rivalry with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. However, Sinner has yet to confirm his participation after withdrawing from this week's Cincinnati Open with a right knee injury.

Singles Participation Still Unconfirmed

Alcaraz has not yet formally confirmed whether his comeback will include the singles event. The main draws begin Aug. 30, but Alcaraz may take the court sooner. The U.S. Open still has three wild cards available for its mixed doubles tournament, which runs Aug. 24–26, including the qualifying event. A decision on the mixed event is expected within the next day or so, but his singles participation does not need to be finalized until the draw on Aug. 27.

Alcaraz could potentially pair with Serena Williams, a megastar and the greatest player of the modern era, forming a tantalizing duo in the mixed event. However, Grand Slam singles tennis presents the sport's stiffest challenge, with men playing best-of-five sets instead of the best-of-three format used in regular tour events. Returning for a Grand Slam without a warm-up event is the ultimate leap into the fire.

Injury Management

Alcaraz has been managing tenosynovitis, an injury in which fluid accumulates in the sheath protecting a key tendon in the wrist. The condition has kept him out of two Grand Slams this year, with the Spaniard and his team taking a cautious approach to an ailment that tennis players fear most.

• He pulled out of the French Open a full month before it started.
• He withdrew from Wimbledon nearly six weeks out.
• His latest withdrawal, from Cincinnati, came much closer to the event — a sign that his comeback was nearing.

Now it is in full view. As Alcaraz himself would say, it appears: here we go.

A Dramatic Return

This move is in keeping with Alcaraz, the sport's biggest star other than Novak Djokovic — the greatest men's player of all time and, even at 39, a true rival until very recently. The decision is dramatic, perhaps risky, and filled with wild possibility: that Alcaraz might prove great enough to rise from his couch, train, and walk into one of the sport's biggest tournaments to claim the trophy.

“Tennis needs Carlos,” Sinner said at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz's absence has been an especially acute blow to the men's game, which has relied on him and Sinner to provide another classic generational rivalry over the coming decades. No one else won a Grand Slam title from the start of 2024 through this year's Australian Open.

Assuming he plays singles, Alcaraz will be the No. 3 seed behind Sinner and Alexander Zverev.

What You Should Read Next: Tennis players fear wrist injuries more than any other. Carlos Alcaraz is no exception.