Carlos Alcaraz returned to singles competition at the US Open on August 31, 2026, beating Russian Roman Safiullin in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in his first match in 139 days following a right wrist injury [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
The 23-year-old Spaniard wore a compression sleeve taped on his right arm for wrist protection and served at a reduced average speed of 113-114 mph but showed strong form, hitting over 20 forehand winners and controlling the baseline throughout the match [1, 2, 5, 6, 7].
Alcaraz said, "It's been a really tough five months for me. I missed it - I missed the crowd, the energy, I missed competition, I missed everything," expressing excitement about his return [1]. He added, "I felt great. I don’t know how it looked from outside but, from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal. I was playing pretty normal, playing my style, and the arm, the wrist, everything felt great" [5].
He also shared relief about the absence of pain, saying he felt he was playing normally despite his recent injury [2, 5, 6, 7]. Fellow players praised his charisma and competitive spirit. Jessica Pegula commented, "He's a super-charismatic, friendly, outgoing person... If he can win his first couple of rounds, he's going to find his form very fast" [8].
Before his singles return, Alcaraz partnered with Serena Williams in mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows, reaching the quarter-finals the week prior [8, 1, 3].
Alcaraz advanced to face Portugal’s Jaime Faria in the second round of the US Open [1, 3]. Earlier in 2026, he completed the career Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, becoming the youngest man to do so [8, 9, 10, 11, 4].
He was sidelined since April following withdrawal from the Barcelona Open due to the wrist injury [8, 12]. His first singles match back at the US Open brought a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win in just over four months since his last outing [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
