John McEnroe says he was ‘depressed’ and ‘bummed out’ after hearing that Carlos Alcaraz had withdrawn from the upcoming edition of Wimbledon.
The Spaniard was forced to withdraw from Madrid, Rome, the French Open, Queen’s and Wimbledon due to a wrist injury sustained in mid-April.
Alcaraz was the defending champion at three of those five tournaments, in addition to having reached the showpiece match at SW19.
With six weeks to go prior to the event, the Wimbledon champion in both 2023 and 2024 was clearly choosing to remain cautious.
“My recovery is going well and I’m feeling much better, but unfortunately I’m still not ready to compete, which is why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen’s and Wimbledon,” the Spaniard stated during his social media withdrawal post.
“They are two truly special tournaments for me and I will miss them a lot. We’ll keep working to come back as soon as possible!”
It is unclear when Alcaraz will return to the tour, especially given that he has yet to resume any tennis practice.
However, according to multiple reports, the Spaniard is ‘optimistic’ that he will return to the sport in time for the US Open, which begins in late August.
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McEnroe, a three-time Wimbledon champion, revealed his sadness at the world No 2’s withdrawal from the grass-court swing.
“I know I was depressed, bummed out that he wasn’t going to be here,” the American said on the Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast.
“He’s the best representative we have in our sport right now in terms of what he brings to the table. So that really hurts [to lose him].”
Indeed, the French Open was the scene of multiple upsets, including the second-round defeat of overwhelming favourite Jannik Sinner.
Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was beaten by teenager Joao Fonseca in the last 32 after leading by two sets to love.
On the women’s side, neither of last year’s finalists reached the semi-finals, as Coco Gauff fell to Potapova in the third round, while Aryna Sabalenka was upset by Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals.
In the end, Alexander Zverev and Mirra Andreeva lifted their maiden Grand Slam titles.
“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks that has in some ways made up for it (the withdrawal), and it’s opened the door obviously because people that didn’t think they’d be in this position have been given an opportunity,” McEnroe added.
“From that standpoint, it’s good.
“But whenever your best player, or first and second or they’re tied or whoever you want to say is better, it hurts.
“So when I heard he [Alcaraz] pulled out of Wimbledon too, that was a bummer. We’re all just praying basically, just hoping, that he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”
