Alcaraz was alarmed by his injury

Carlos Alcaraz revealed his worries over an ankle injury during the 2025 Tokyo Open.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz confessed he was “terrified” after suffering an ankle injury in his win against Sebastián Báez on Thursday at the Tokyo Open.

Alcaraz defeated the Argentine player 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the second round, but there was a tense moment when he fell to the court in the first set, showing visible pain.

At 2-2, 15-0, while Báez was serving, Alcaraz rushed to intercept a drop volley but slipped and fell, clutching his face in distress. Initially, he avoided putting weight on his left foot, had to request medical attention, then returned to the court with his ankle bandaged.

A few games later, his team signaled to stop, but Alcaraz chose to continue. After a rain delay, the Spanish player gradually regained his rhythm, played more aggressively to shorten points, won the first set, and then dominated the second to close out the match.

After the victory, Alcaraz said: “I was really scared, to be honest. When I landed on my ankle, I immediately felt something was wrong. I’m just lucky I could keep going and perform well enough to finish the match decently.”

Asked about his recovery prospects, he stated: “We’ll see. The next day or day and a half won’t be easy for me. I’ll do everything possible to be ready for the next round, physically fit to compete.”

This win marked Alcaraz’s first match since claiming the US Open title three weeks ago, reclaiming the world number one ranking from Jannik Sinner. They won’t face each other this week as Sinner is competing at the China Open in Beijing, where he just defeated Marin Cilic in straight sets to reach round two.

Alcaraz has now won 48 of his last 51 matches and is expected to face Belgian player Zizou Bergs in the Tokyo Open second round on Saturday, if his fitness allows.