Carlos Alcaraz has addressed his decision to pull out of one of his home tournaments, the Madrid Open. The world No. 3 sparked concerns that he would not be ready to compete after picking up an adductor injury in Sunday’s Barcelona Open final. On Thursday, he confirmed he would not compete at this week’s Masters 1000 in Madrid.

Alcaraz also revealed that he was also dealing with a second injury in his left hamstring. The reigning French Open champion is now in a race against time to recover for his title defence at the end of next month. He is set to undergo more tests next week and hopes to be in Rome for the Italian Open.

The 21-year-old received an off-court medical timeout in the recent Barcelona Open final. He struggled to win a game in the second set and lost to Holger Rune.

Alcaraz had not trained since picking up the right adductor issue and has now withdrawn from the Madrid Open with two muscle injuries.

Addressing the media, the Spaniard explained that he would have made things worse if he had attempted to play this fortnight.

“You all saw that the physio came in to treat my right adductor muscle in the Barcelona final, but I also noticed something else in my left hamstring,” he said.

“On Tuesday I had some tests, I was waiting and assessing my equipment, with the doctors to see if I was going to be able to arrive in good condition to play in Madrid.

“I’ve done everything possible, but things haven’t improved much these past few days. You have to listen to your body.

“If I played, I would still be in trouble for longer than expected. You have to listen to your body and make difficult decisions. I made the right decision. I’ll try to rest and be back on the court as soon as possible.”

Alcaraz is set to undergo more tests next week in the hopes that he can return at the Italian Open – the third Masters 1000 event of the clay-court swing, which begins on May 7.

If he enters the tournament, the world No. 3 would not play until later in the week, receiving a bye as one of the top seeds.

He continued: “On Monday I’m having another test to see how things have progressed this week, and from there we’ll see what happens. There, we’ll assess how the next few days and weeks will be, how my body is. I think we’ll be confident [to be at the French Open], we’ll try to be there in Rome. That’s the goal.”

Alcaraz’s clay season was also disrupted by physical issues last year. He missed tournaments in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Rome with a forearm injury. Going into the French Open, he had only played four matches in Madrid, losing in the quarter-final.

But he still managed to win his third Major title at Roland Garros. This year, Alcaraz is less concerned about his muscle injuries, and he already has two good weeks under his belt – winning the Monte-Carlo Masters and finishing runner-up in Barcelona.

“I’m less worried than last year . Last year was difficult, with a lot of doubt about not knowing when I was going to hit the ball normally because of my forearm,” he explained.

“I’ve already experienced this injury and I know how to deal with it. I know I’m going to come back stronger; I’m not as worried. Hopefully it’ll be like last year, but I’m clear that we’ll recover as soon as possible and that it’ll go away.

“My confidence is high; the last two weeks have been good for me. Mentally, I have the strength to play good tennis again. If I don’t play before Roland Garros, I don’t care. I have the confidence and I know what my level is.”