Carlos Alcaraz smiled after his US Open title defence ended in a 4am, four-hour loss to Ben Shelton. The 23-year-old Spaniard, competing in his first tournament in over five months following a daily-pain wrist injury, called the quarter-final run "a gift" and said he "missed that feeling" of competition. He criticised the tournament's late-night scheduling, urging a maximum 11pm finish after several matches, including Alexander Zverev's and Venus Williams', ended past 1am.

Alcaraz joins other stars like Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner in missing large season chunks due to injury. Sinner, who split eight Grand Slam titles with Alcaraz across 2024-2025, missed the US Open with a knee issue. Their sole 2025 meeting saw Sinner win the Monte Carlo Masters final to claim world number one. Alcaraz said he misses Sinner, adding, "He pushes me to be a better player."

This week, Alcaraz competes for Team Europe at the Laver Cup at The O2 in London, 25-27 September. Captained by Yannick Noah against Andre Agassi's Team USA, Alcaraz praised the team atmosphere: "When you have your team-mates, the best in the world, by your side, it's a weird feeling but it's beautiful."