Davis Cup in doubt? Carlos Alcaraz suffers muscle edema after MRI following ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz might not play the Davis Cup after all with the Spaniard needing to undergo medical tests in order to make sure he has not suffered any significant injuries at the ATP Finals according to Marca.

Alcaraz would've had Davis Cup captain David Ferrer's heart in his mouth as he appeared to tweak his hamstring in the opening set of his tie against Jannik Sinner which he lost in two sets. It was only the second time Alcaraz lost in their six meetings this season so in reality something went awry for him to lose.

He was bidding to become the first Spaniard to win the year end title since 1998 something Rafael Nadal surprisingly never achieved but speaking afterwards in Turin, he stopped clear of suggesting it affected his performance.

“I felt something, the hamstring, after trying to catch one serve. I could say it didn’t affect me too much, to be honest, because I could run well, I could go to the balls well,” Alcaraz told reporters.

He has since been confirmed to be suffering from a muscle edema and he will take Tuesday off and try to train again on Wednesday before assessing his chances of playing against Czech Republic. It could yet be a problem for Ferrer's side.

“Obviously, the thoughts about how it was going to be if I do crazy things that I’m used to doing, how it’s going to be, those thoughts were in my mind sometimes. But I could play well.

“I’m not going to say I could play better or I could do something better if my hamstring were well. I could play really good tennis with it. The loss is because he deserved it.

“I didn’t change the plan because of the injury,” he continued. “I changed it because I felt that I had to do something else. I’m trying to be as aggressive as I can on court every match, but especially I think even more against Jannik.”

A plan has now been put into place according Marca to minimise the risk of potentially worsening his injury while he plays in the Davis Cup Finals this week. He will undergo an MRI in the hamstring area to rule out any injury. He will go to Angel Ruiz Cotorro who is the head of medical for the Spanish Tennis Federation so in reality Ferrer will no doubt know soon enough anyway.

Should he be fine, he will feature in the Quarter-Finals against Czech Republic against either Jiri Lehecka or Jakub Mensik in one of the singles ties.

While Jannik Sinner has decided not to play the Davis Cup, Alcaraz will rest up after Bologna and is ready for more battles with his sparring partner in 2026. Albeit he first has to rule out any such issues going into the latter stages of the year. “It’s time to rest, hope you’re (Sinner) gonna be ready for next year because I will be ready for more finals against you."