Emergency pod - Alcaraz out of Roland Garros

**Catherine** (0:10)
Hello, and welcome to The Tennis Podcast, an emergency, unplanned, extra bonus tennis podcast. I've got a beer on the go, because I was supposed to be at the pub right now, but instead I'm here forming a healing circle with my favorite people, David Law and Matt Roberts, following the news that Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, has withdrawn not only from Rome, but also from Roland Garros. He has said on Instagram, and I assume other social medias today, but I saw on Instagram, the post saying, after the results of the tests carried out today, we've decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome and Roland Garros, while we wait to assess the evolution to decide when we will return to the court. It's a complicated moment for me, but I'm sure we'll come out stronger from here. This is, of course, following a wrist or forearm injury that he sustained during his first match in Barcelona. It looks wristy to me. Certainly, he's been pictured widely wearing the wrist brace, had to go to the Lloris Sports Awards, win his Sportsman of the Year award wearing his wrist brace. And you hear wrist injury and tennis player and, well, I don't know about you, but I panic. I've heard the words Dominic Thiem too much in the last hour.
David, could you recreate, please, your reaction to this news of a couple of hours ago?

**David Law** (1:58)
Sadness for him, sadness for the sport, really, because I think Jannik Sinner actually summed it up pretty well in that regard. Tennis needs people like Carlos Alcaraz, and men's tennis really needs Carlos Alcaraz at the moment, because he has been such a huge feature of what's gone on for the last few years, and he is electric, and the rivalry is amazing with him and Sinner. And the fact that he played Djokovic recently was, the Australian Open was amazing, and you're not going to get many of those now with him and Djokovic in the same draw. So of course, it's just a huge shame. I wasn't very surprised, really, given what we've seen and heard of the last few days, that appearance at the awards, the fact that he said, I've got to make sure I play the long game here, and don't cause myself further problem. I think he's absolutely right.
And obviously, there is...

**Catherine** (2:56)
Are you surprised by the timing, David, that he's... Because I know you've been probably the most pessimistic of all of us for the last 10 days or so since he got this injury in Barcelona, but are you surprised that he's called it this early?

**David Law** (3:11)
Well, I think...

**Catherine** (3:12)
And isn't saying in that statement, I'll be back and raring to go for the grass. I think that's an interesting omission.

**David Law** (3:19)
One can only speculate and put two and two together with facts like those and with absences of information like that. And I think, you know, whatever I am about to say is speculation, right? I don't have any medical knowledge. I only know what I've heard, the same as everybody else. But that would make me more concerned, yeah.
I'm concerned for him that it's serious. I mean, I remember a year ago, you know, coming up to a year ago when Artifice hurt his back.
And he played that incredible match and he got through it and he pulled out and basically wasn't seen again for eight months. And, you know, yes, there was a very brief moment where he tried to play a tournament in the summer. And listen, maybe this isn't like that. Maybe this is just precautionary and he's got an injury that it really would be stupid to test and he's going to play many more Roland Garros's. We hope that's the hope with all of these guys. But there has to be a chance as well that it's something that they've got to be very, very careful with. And I certainly would prefer they were. You mentioned Dominic Thiem. I'd be more concerned about one Martin Del Potro, probably, because he had a wrist injury that changed his entire career and he still managed to get something out of it. But listen, it also may not-

**Catherine** (4:48)
Yeah, he got more out of it than Dominic Thiem post-injury, I suppose is why Thiem strings to mind to me is like almost the most tragic.

**David Law** (4:56)
I do think Thiem was sliding a little anyway by that time.
Del Potro, when he did his injury, it looked like he could be about to just gate crash the big three, four.