Carlos Alcaraz Wins Japan Open After Four-Month Injury Layoff

Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first title since returning from a four-month injury layoff after beating Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in the Japan Open final in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The top seed and defending champion was forced to work hard by world number 19 Lehecka, who made a fast start by breaking Alcaraz’s serve in the opening game at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park.

Alcaraz recovered midway through the first set before producing two excellent drop shots and winning the tiebreak 7-4. Lehecka continued to pose problems in the second set, but the Spaniard secured a crucial break midway through the set and held his nerve to seal the victory.

The triumph marked Alcaraz’s first title since the Qatar Open in February and his third tournament since returning from a wrist injury. He had previously reached the US Open quarter-finals and competed at the Laver Cup.

“A lot of negative thoughts come to your mind: if you’re going to come back healthy, if you’re going to be the same as I was before,” said Alcaraz.

“A lot of thoughts came to my mind, but I tried to put those thoughts away all the time.”

“My team and I knew that when I came back, I was going to be healthy 100 per cent, and if I feel something, it’s not going to be anything at all.”

The victory gave the world number three his third title of 2026, following his Australian Open triumph, and the 27th title of his career.

Alcaraz’s success came hours after world number one Jannik Sinner announced that he had ended his season early because of an ongoing knee injury.

The Spaniard is scheduled to compete at the Shanghai Masters from Wednesday. He withdrew from last year’s tournament after winning in Tokyo, citing physical issues and criticising tennis’ congested schedule.