World No 3 Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome after sustaining a forearm injury in his Mutua Madrid Open exit.
Alcaraz had been due to feature in the latest ATP 1000 event in Rome, live from May 8-19 on Sky Sports Tennis, where the Spaniard looked to bounce back from his quarter-final defeat in Madrid on Wednesday.
The reigning Wimbledon champion's hopes of a threepeat on home soil were ended by Andrey Rublev, who secured the biggest win of his career when he triumphed 4-6 6-3 6-2 under the roof of Manolo Santana Stadium.
Alcaraz experienced pain in his arm during the tournament and was wearing strapping during the defeat, with the 20-year-old confirming on social media that he would not recover in time to feature in Rome.
In a statement released on X, Alcaraz said: "I felt some pain after playing in Madrid, some discomfort in my arm. Today I did some tests and I have a muscle edema [fluid swelling] in my pronator teres [forearm muscle], a consequence of my recent injury.
"Unfortunately I will not be able to play in Rome. I need to rest so I can recover and play 100 per cent pain free. I am very sorry, I will see you next year."
Alcaraz successfully defended his Indian Wells title in March and reached the Miami Open quarter-finals, before injuring his right forearm in a practice session in Monaco and continuing to struggle with the issue.
He withdrew from Monte-Carlo Masters last month and skipped his Barcelona Open title defence due to injury, with Alcaraz feeling sore during his progression to the Madrid quarter-finals.
Following the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, there are ATP 250 events in Geneva and Lyon from May 19-25 ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year - the French Open at Roland Garros - getting under way on May 26.
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