World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz announced on Friday that he had to withdraw from the Australian Open (January 16-29), the first Grand Slam lifter of the season, after injuring his right leg in training.

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"When I was in my best shape during the offseason, I injured myself by making a wrong move during training" to a muscle in the right leg, explains the Spaniard on his Twitter account.

“I had worked very hard to get to my best level in Australia,” continues the 19-year-old.

“Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the Kooyong tournament or the Australian Open. It's a tough time to get through, but I have to stay optimistic, recover and look forward. We will see each other in 2024 Australian Open”, he concludes.

Alcaraz became the youngest world No.1 since the creation of the ATP rankings in 1973 by winning last September at the US Open, his first Grand Slam tournament, at the age of 19. He became a few months later the youngest player in history to end the year at the top of the world hierarchy.

But an abdominal tear forced him to retire in the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Paris in November, forcing him to end his season prematurely. He was therefore unable to participate in the end-of-year Masters in Turin or the Davis Cup.

His return to Melbourne was expected in particular with a view to a possible duel with Novak Djokovic, the best player on hard court (nine titles at the Australian Open and three at the US Open) who had not been able to participate. last year at the Australian Open nor at Flushing Meadows, because of his refusal of the anti-covid vaccine.