Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune gear up for highly anticipated tennis return as latest practice session together reveals telling signs

Tennis fans are still being left in the dark when it comes to Carlos Alcaraz's US Open involvement. The wrist injury that has banished him to a period on the sidelines is improving with a race against time to get into the optimal shape to defend his title at Flushing Meadows. The World No.2 was seen on court alongside Holger Rune as the duo both close in on their respected return to tennis.

The two young talents with so much calibre and prestige behind them have been missing in action for some time. Alcaraz damaged his wrist in the first round of the Barcelona Open, withdrawing from the event before proceeding to take a painful step back from the sport in a bid to let it rest and recover.

It was an even more serious problem for Rune. Back in the 2025 Stockholm Open, the former World No.4 suffered a devastating achilles injury during the semi-final. The worst case scenario was confirmed with predictions of his return being around 9-12 months.

Both players were predicted by many to compete at the US Open, but seemingly that may not occur. The video shows both Alcaraz and Rune on the court together in Murica, Alcaraz's native home, playing a practice match in a competitive manner.

The signs were clear that the Spaniard was not putting his full force on the pedal. He was not serving as hard as he could do, not wanting to put too much load in the recovering wrist. It is, however, another promising sign that he is on the mend. It can be backed up by the countless clips of him on his Instagram page starting to hit the ball once more. From light taps to harder hits, whether the 23-year-old is 100% yet is not known but he is most certainly in a better position to make his return to the action.

Both their comebacks have been speculated a lot in these past few months. Rune was touted of returning on clay at the Hamburg Open ahead of Roland Garros, a long time before his predicted return would have been, before opting to skip it.

Alcaraz's injury has been revealed to be more serious over time, resulting in him missing all the clay and grass tournaments from Barcelona onwards before also withdrawing from the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open.

That means his last match was all the way back in April. For Rune, the 18th October 2025. Why this is important is the fact that both are targeting the US Open. In any other tournaments below Grand Slam level, the choice would be easier from a health point of view due to major events being best of five sets, reduced to three in all the other tournaments on the ATP Tour.

This could put the reigning champion off from his title defence. However, the hunger and competitive nature of Alcaraz and Rune makes the US Open a tantalising prospect and a competition with so much pedigree that from a sporting perspective, it is almost a no-brainer to turn up.

These two are still so young, 23 to be precise. They could be challenging for Grand Slam titles wen into their 30s, making it more than a decade of their tennis careers still to be played out. Any unnecessary risks which could force them to remain away from the action even longer is a risk that neither will be wanting to go through.

A huge void will be left if Alcaraz does not believe he can compete in New York. Jannik Sinner is light years ahead of the pack with only the seven-time Grand Slam champion able to compete at the highest level. With the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year starting on the 30th August, that gives Alcaraz and Rune two weeks to assess the damage and pile in the practice sessions to get them back up to speed for a blockbuster return.