Carlos Alcaraz forces ATP 1000 final moved to Sunday in Cincinnati return push

**Carlos Alcaraz has forced a major change at the ATP 1000 Cincinnati event after complaining about the final’s Monday scheduling.**

The world No. 3, sidelined since April with a right wrist injury, will see the tournament’s final moved from Monday, August 24 to Sunday, August 23. Organisers confirmed the shift on July 15, 2026, after Alcaraz criticised the late finish’s impact on recovery ahead of his return.

What happened?

Alcaraz pulled out of the Barcelona Open, French Open and Wimbledon after the wrist problem flared up in April. He also skipped the Italian Open and Queen’s Club, but is now on track to return for the Cincinnati Open in mid-August. The Spaniard won the 2025 Cincinnati title after Jannik Sinner retired in the first set of the final, a match that ended on a Monday.

At the time, Alcaraz said: “It is going to be weird playing a final on a Monday. I am going to feel like, what is going on? I don’t know. It’s a different feeling. I love playing the final on Sunday.”

Why it matters for Carlos Alcaraz

The change cuts his recovery window after the final. Cincinnati starts on August 17, with the revised Sunday final giving him an extra day to rest before the US Open Mixed Doubles Challenge begins on August 25. Last year, Alcaraz flew straight from Cincinnati to New York to team up with Emma Raducanu without a break.

La Verdad reports his team is pushing for medical clearance from Dr Ángel Ruiz-Cotorro this week. “The wrist is healthy, completely healed,” the outlet quoted a source close to Alcaraz. Training load will ramp up gradually ahead of the August hard-court swing.

What comes next?

Alcaraz will miss the Montreal Masters 1000 in early August but is targeting Cincinnati as his comeback. If he reaches the final, he faces a tight turnaround to the US Open, where Alexander Zverev and Sinner have already claimed the last two majors.

The 11-day Cincinnati event now spans August 17-23, with the Sunday final aligning it with the rest of the Masters 1000 calendar. Alcaraz’s camp insists the wrist is fully healed, but the logistical puzzle remains if he goes deep in Ohio.