Carlos Alcaraz’s injury-enforced absence is having an impact on the sport not only on the court, but also in terms of ticket sales at events, according to tennis commentator Prakash Amritraj.
The Spaniard started the 2026 season with a title run at the Australian Open as he collected his seventh Grand Slam with victory over Novak Djokovic in the final, but he suffered a blow at the start of the clay-court season in April as he picked up a wrist injury.
He has been forced to miss several events, including his title defence at Roland Garros as well as Wimbledon, with Jannik Sinner dominating men’s tennis in his absence as the Italian won the Madrid Open, Italian Open and Wimbledon.
Alexander Zverev lifted the French Open trophy, but there is no doubt that the Tour is lacking star power without Alcaraz.
And Alcaraz proved recently what a global sensation he is as he was part of the World Cup closing ceremony, as he was asked to bring in the trophy before the match between Spain and Argentina.
Carlos Alcaraz News
During an appearance on the Nothing Major podcast, former player and current Tennis Channel host Amritraj gave insight into the 23-year-old’s allure in tennis with his participation in events affecting ticket sales.
“He is one of those absolutely transcendent stars. I mean, look at the World Cup, let’s put this into perspective here. This is as big a global, forget sporting, this is as big an event as it possibly gets,” Amritraj stated.
“We were in Wimbledon, the whole city was frozen when the UK [teams] were playing, everywhere in the world it has been this way and Carlos is bringing out the trophy, that is absolutely nuts.
“I have spoken to tournament directors where when Carlos is either hurt and pulls out of a tournament or whether he’s in or whether he loses early or he’s going to make the finals, it is such a needle mover for the actual ticket sales of the event.
“I mean that’s how big this guy is and look, it’s also his lifestyle. When he won in Roland Garros last year, he’s chilling, you know, partying and playing cards with OBJ (Odell Beckham Jr.) that evening.
“You know, he’s hanging with all these stars that adds to the allure of Carlos and then he just plays into it too, man. I mean, when he’s on the court and he throws out that, you know, million-megawatt smile out there, the whole world goes crazy. It’s nuts.”
