Carlos Alcaraz shows off striking new look ahead of tennis return – with Spaniard set to defend US Open title after FOUR months out injured
Former Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz has donned a new look ahead of his return from injury that saw him miss this year’s championships.
The 23-year-old has been out of action since April due to the persistent wrist injury that saw him miss the French Open and this year’s Wimbledon.
After failing to defend his Paris title in the spring, he had hoped to take part at SW19, but admitted the tournament had come too soon.
‘My recovery is going well and I’m feeling much better, but unfortunately I’m still not ready to compete, which is why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen’s and Wimbledon,’ he said.
‘They are two truly special tournaments for me and I will miss them a lot. We’ll keep working to come back as soon as possible!’
But he is edging ever closer to a return, and is showing off a new look ahead of that – with apparent braids.
Tennis star Carlos Alcaraz is donning a new look ahead of his highly-anticipated tennis return
Alcaraz usually dons swept short hair, but seems to have grown it out during his time off.
He shared a snap of a mirror selfie, wearing a white shirt with his hair split into braids.
The collection of photos was captioned: ‘July,’ accompanied by a sun emoji, and also featured snaps of the star celebrating Spain’s World Cup win.
His Wimbledon absence meant rival Jannik Sinner took home the crown, with the two likely to face off sooner rather than later when Alcaraz returns.
Alcaraz is set to return to action in the Cincinnati Open, which starts on August 8 and finishes on August 23.
Then, he will look to defend his US Open title, with that competition beginning on August 23 too.
Alcaraz beat Sinner in last year’s final in another chapter of their rivalry.
