World number 1 Carlos Alcaraz pulls out of Australian Open due to leg injury

This first Grand Slam competition of the year will begin from January 16 onwards at Melbourne Park, with the draw set to take place on next Thursday.

Alcaraz announced that he was pulling out of the competition on Twitter.

"When I was at my best in the preseason, I picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training. This time it's the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg," Alcaraz was quoted as saying in a tweet by ESPN.

"I'd worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won't be able to play the Care A2+ Kooyong or the Australian Open. It's tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward. See you in 2024," added Alcaraz in another tweet.

Last year, Alcaraz clinched the US Open title back in September to make it to the top of The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Rankings, making the 19-year-old youngest to finish the season at the top since the starting of computerised ranking in men's tennis half a century back.

His climb from number 32 at 2021-end to the top spot also marked the largest single-season jump to the top spot.

This is his second significant setback. He was forced to cut short last season due to an abdominal muscle tear sustained at Paris Masters. Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from ATP Finals and Davis Cup finals consequently.

But he managed to close out 2022 with five singles titles and an impressive win-loss record of 57-13.

With Alcaraz having pulled out, the number two Rafael Nadal, who is the defending champion of the Australian Open singles title and has a record of 22 Grand Slam wins in men's tennis, will be moving up to number one in seedings for this hard-court event.

These two Spaniards became the first from the same nation to occupy the top two spots in ATP Rankings at season-end since America's Pete Sampras and Michael Chang did it back in 1996.

His pulling out also removes a major hurdle for Serbian star Novak Djokovic, who will be returning to Australia in pursuit of his 10th AO title and 22nd overall major title. He had missed out on the 2022 edition of the tournament after being deported from the country due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19. Though he is still unvaccinated, the restrictions have eased down. (ANI)