Alcaraz to miss AO due to freak leg injury

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will miss the Australian Open due to a leg injury suffered in training, the Spaniard announced on Saturday.

The teenaged reigning US Open champion dropped the bombshell on social media; he was to have tuned up for the major with an appearance next week at the Kooyong exhibition in Melbourne and a charity hit-out at the Rod Laver arena.

“It’s time to deal with another blow…when I was at my best in preseason I picked up another injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training,” he said.

“This time it’s the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg.I’d worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia.

“But unfortunately I won’t be able to play Kooyong or the Australian Open. It’s tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward.

“See you in 2024 @australianopen.”