Carlos Alcaraz, the 21-year-old Spanish tennis sensation, stands at a crossroads as the 2025 Madrid Open, set to unfold from April 22 to May 4, approaches. Fresh off a grueling Barcelona Open final loss to Holger Rune on April 20, where a psoas muscle injury in his upper right leg sparked concern, Alcaraz has received a timely boost: a favorable draw at the Caja Mágica. As the second seed with a first-round bye, he faces a manageable path to the later rounds, but lingering questions about his fitness threaten to overshadow his quest for a third Madrid title. “I’ll talk with my team, we’ll do some tests, but I’m confident it won’t affect me in Madrid,” Alcaraz said post-Barcelona, his optimism tempered by the need for an MRI scan to assess the injury’s severity.
Alcaraz’s Barcelona campaign was a rollercoaster. After clinching the Monte Carlo Masters, his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title, he arrived in Catalonia as the favorite, powering through Arthur Fils and Alex de Minaur to reach the final. However, the relentless schedule—10 matches in 12 days—caught up with him. Against Rune, Alcaraz broke early but faltered in a tight 7-6(6) first-set tiebreak. The second set turned dire when, leading 2-1, he required a medical timeout for his psoas, a core muscle linking the spine to the hips. “The beginning of the second set was physically demanding, with extended, intense exchanges,” he admitted. “After a couple of sprints, my right psoas felt a bit sore.” Returning with heavy strapping, he struggled, dropping the set 6-2 as Rune claimed his maiden ATP 500 title. The loss, Alcaraz’s sixth in a final, saw him slip to world No. 3 behind Alexander Zverev, who won in Munich.
The Madrid draw offers hope. Alcaraz opens against Zizou Bergs or Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round, the latter of whom he’s beaten twice, including at the 2022 Paris Masters. A third-round clash with Jiri Lehecka, who upset him at the 2025 Qatar Open, looms, but Alcaraz’s 72% clay win rate favors him. The fourth round could bring Grigor Dimitrov, a stylistic challenge despite Alcaraz’s 3-2 head-to-head lead, including a 6-1, 6-1 rout at Indian Wells. “I’m leaving here proud to have given my all,” Alcaraz said after Barcelona, a mindset he’ll carry to Madrid. A quarter-final against Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, or Stefanos Tsitsipas awaits, with Musetti’s clay prowess and Tsitsipas’s experience posing threats. The semifinal could see a blockbuster with Novak Djokovic, whose 5-3 edge over Alcaraz includes a 2025 Australian Open win. “It was one of those matches to enjoy,” Alcaraz recalled of their 2022 Madrid epic, a 7-6(5) victory for him.
Alcaraz’s injury, while concerning, isn’t his first rodeo. In 2024, a right forearm issue forced withdrawals from Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and discomfort persisted into Madrid, where Andrey Rublev ousted him in the quarterfinals. “I felt some pain after playing in Madrid,” he noted then, later skipping Rome to recover for Roland Garros, where he won his first French Open. His team, led by coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, is cautious, with a scan set for April 21 to determine his Madrid participation. A delayed start is possible, but Alcaraz’s admission of fatigue—“It’s been two weeks of nonstop play”—suggests rest may be crucial with Roland Garros looming.
The Madrid Open, a home event where Alcaraz triumphed in 2022 and 2023, holds special meaning. Rafael Nadal’s post-Barcelona message, urging him to prioritize health, resonates. “We admire Rafa for what he’s done,” Alcaraz said, bowing to Nadal’s Monte Carlo-Barcelona doubles. As fans rally for their “Carlitos,” Alcaraz’s resilience—evident in his 18-5 2025 record and four Grand Slam titles—fuels hope. Can he overcome his physical setbacks to reclaim the Caja Mágica crown, or will the psoas injury derail his clay-season dreams? The tennis world awaits the scan’s verdict, but Alcaraz’s fighting spirit remains undimmed.[](https://thesportstak.com/tennis/story/carlos-alcarazs-madrid-masters-dream-on-thin-ice-as-crucial-injury-scan-casts-doubt-on-atp-journey-3172288-2025-04-21)[](https://www.essentiallysports.com/atp-tennis-news-madrid-open-two-zero-two-five-tough-road-ahead-for-carlos-alcaraz-as-familiar-face-novak-djokovic-waits-yet-again/)[](https://www.tennisworldusa.org/tennis/news/Carlos_Alcaraz/154925/new-details-on-carlos-alcaraz-s-next-steps-ahead-of-2025-madrid-open/)