Carlos Alcaraz has two Wimbledon titles and two Queen’s titles from three summers of serious grass-court tennis, but a right wrist injury kept him off the grass entirely in 2026. With no matches to count, he fell from 1st to 10th in the GTC Grass Rankings and ended the season on a GTC Grass Rating of 111.
Grass at a glance
- GTC Grass Rating: 111, 10th in the men’s rankings (1st before the season, on 135)
- Pillars: Lawn Form 18, Arsenal 92, Wimbledon 98, Nerve 90
- Nationality: Spain
- Best Wimbledon result: Champion (2023, 2024)
- Grass titles: Queen’s 2023 and 2025; Wimbledon 2023 and 2024
- Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
- 2026 status: Missed the grass season with right wrist tenosynovitis
How Carlos plays on grass
Alcaraz wins on grass through range rather than one weapon. His forehand is the heaviest shot in most of his matches, yet the part of his game that suits the surface best is his willingness to finish forward: he follows big forehands to the net, volleys cleanly and uses the drop shot as a genuine point-ending option on soft, low-bouncing courts. The slice backhand is a real tool for him, used to drag opponents in and to change the height of the rally.
His serve has grown into a reliable weapon on grass, with enough variety to win free points without being the biggest in the field. Movement is the other separator. He reaches balls other players would concede and turns defence into attack in a single shot. That breadth is why his Arsenal score sits at 92.
The Nerve score of 90 is earned. His first Wimbledon title came in a five-set final against Novak Djokovic, and he has repeatedly lifted his level in deciding sets and tie-breaks. His Lawn Form score of 18 says nothing about his ability; it reflects a season without a single grass match.
Grass record
Alcaraz made his Wimbledon debut as a wildcard in 2021 and lost in the second round to Daniil Medvedev, then reached the fourth round in 2022, where Jannik Sinner beat him. The breakthrough came in 2023. He won Queen’s in his first serious grass campaign and a few weeks later beat Djokovic in five sets in the Wimbledon final. He defended the title in 2024 with a straight-sets final win over Djokovic.
In 2025 he won Queen’s for a second time, beating Jiri Lehecka in the final, and reached a third straight Wimbledon final, losing to Sinner in four sets. That record across three summers is why he started 2026 at the top of the rankings.
The 2026 grass season
There was no grass season. Alcaraz injured his right wrist in the first round of the Barcelona Open on 14 April, and the problem was later identified as tenosynovitis. He missed the rest of the clay swing, and on 19 May he announced that he would miss both Queen’s, where he was defending champion, and Wimbledon. His rating held at 135 through ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Queen’s, then dropped to 111 after Wimbledon once his Lawn Form score had no results to support it. He carries an injured flag and was rated on pedigree alone. He returned at the US Open in late August after more than four months away.
Looking ahead to 2027
If the wrist holds through the hard-court and clay seasons, the plan should look familiar: Queen’s as the single warm-up, then Wimbledon. Nothing in his grass game needs rebuilding. The questions are physical: whether he can swing freely on the forehand and serve at full speed, since his serve pace was noticeably down on his return in New York. Because the GTC Grass Rating weights recent lawn results at 40%, a strong Queen’s week alone would move him back towards the top 3. A third Wimbledon title is a realistic target, provided he arrives on grass with a full season of matches behind him.
