Carlos Alcaraz exits Rio Open tennis tournament with injured ankle

Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Carlos Alcaraz rolled onto the side of his right ankle and tumbled, leading to a first-set retirement in his first match at the 2024 Rio Open.

"Very sad I had to withdraw after hurting my ankle," Alcaraz wrote Wednesday on Instagram and X. "We will do some tests to see the extent of the injury. Thank you for the support!"

The No. 2 tennis player in the world won the first game, and Brazilian Thiago Monteiro was serving in the second game before the injury occurred Tuesday at Quadra Guga Kuerten in Rio de Janeiro. Alcaraz returned the serve and ran to his left, anticipating a second return.

Monteiro then fired the return back to the same area, forcing Alcaraz to double back to his left. The sudden move resulted in an Alcaraz misstep, rolling his right ankle as the ball sailed to his left. The Spaniard dropped his racket, remained down and requested medical attention.

Alcaraz returned to his feet and went on to win the first game, but retired after Monteiro won the second game of the Round of 32 meeting.

"This is so strange, it was the second point of the match," Monteiro told reporters. "On the court, it didn't look so serious, but then I saw it in the big screen and it was a bad twist.

"Now I can only cheer for him to recover. He is a star, a dominant one in the new generation."

Alcaraz, who was a quarterfinalist at the 2024 Australian Open, said he was told that the injury was "not too serious." The injury occurred less than a month before he is to face Rafael Nadal in the Netflix Slam exhibition match March 3 in Las Vegas.

"Let's see if it's something serious or not," Alcaraz said Tuesday. "The [medical staff] told me they think it's not too serious. I think I'll have time to recover and be ready for that match, but you never know."