Carlos Alcaraz remains on the sidelines due to injury, and the Spanish icon has been the subject of some astonishing comments from an Italian Tennis Federation official.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion has been absent from the tour since sustaining a right wrist injury in his first round win at the Barcelona Open in April.
Alcaraz is reportedly suffering from tenosynovitis — an inflammation of the tendon sheath in the wrist.
The world No 2 has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Masters, which begins on Thursday, and there are doubts over his participation at the 2026 US Open.
Gianni Daniele, the chief doctor and chair of the medical and anti-doping commission of the Italian Tennis Federation, has made some staggering and unsubstantiated claims about Alcaraz.
In an interview with Italian newspaper la Repubblica, Daniele cast doubt over Alcaraz’s injury and asserted that the 23-year-old is “experiencing a sort of mental weakness.”
“It’s never been entirely clear what kind of wrist injury Carlos suffered,” said Daniele.
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“Now there’s a rumour going around that he’s experiencing a sort of mental weakness.
“Struggling to regain his former intensity, a form of depression has reportedly set in, creating a vicious cycle that prevents him from regaining the same confidence he had in the past.
“Doubts are beginning to take hold in his mind, and it’s a real shame — even for the world No 1 (Jannik Sinner) — not to be facing a rival of immense class.”
It is baffling that someone in a prominent position at a national tennis federation would make such a statement about a player’s health, and understandably, Daniele has come under fire.
Jose Moron, a leading Spanish tennis journalist, took to Twitter/X to lambast Daniele for his comments about Alcaraz.
“This is absolutely DISGRACEFUL,” Moron began (translated from Spanish).
“This guy speaks about Carlos like this without having the slightest clue what he’s talking about.
“It seems utterly abhorrent to me that [someone] from the Italian Tennis Federation would have words of such magnitude toward Alcaraz.
“I can’t imagine the Spanish Federation saying anything about Jannik [Sinner]. You’ve got to have more class.”
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