Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury has seen him miss the entire swing, with confirmed appearances at Queen’s and Wimbledon nixed weeks in advance.
According to Tennis365, he is not the only player who has been forced out of a grass court event on the ATP Tour, though, with the likes of Lorenzo Musetti, Jack Draper, Holger Rune, Valentin Vacherot, and Luciano Darderi all pulling out of Queen’s.
The grass court swing comes at an increasingly difficult time of year, after a very intensive period on the European clay court swing.
Three Masters 1000 events take place on the clay, as well as Roland Garros, and players always find it difficult to transition to the grass.
Asked how to stop the likes of Alcaraz missing key events on the calendar, John Lloyd issued a strong new rule proposal for the Grand Slams.
Speaking on BBC’s coverage of Queen’s Lloyd said, “In my opinion, the calendar is awful. It has been for years. I think Grand Slams should be best of three sets anyway. I’ve said that for years. All the way through, or certainly from the quarter-finals. I’ve been saying this for years.
“We are going to see more and more injuries, mark my words, unless something is changed. It will happen, there will be more injuries. The best of five sets for four Slams, it’s not just the playing at the tournament that does it, it’s the preparation,” he added.
Lloyd believes a best of three set match would still suffice for fans as the intensity of the matches will still be played at a very high level. He also believes the best of three format would suit evening sessions at the Grand Slams far better, as players will not be playing until the early hours of the morning.
