Alcaraz to miss French Open, Sabalenka ousts Osaka + Gauff & Swiatek fall sick in Madrid

Halfway through the Madrid Open and the biggest story isn’t even in Spain — Carlos Alcaraz is out of Roland Garros with a wrist injury. Joel and Chris get stuck into what it means, from the biggest winners and losers to whether Jannik Sinner’s path to a Career Slam just got a little smoother.In Madrid, it’s been less clay-court season, more survival mode. A mystery “Madrid lurgy” has taken hold, with Iga Swiatek forced into just her second career retirement and Coco Gauff also struggling on court. Thankfully, Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka delivered a match of the year contender and sparked the question: is “Claysaka” officially back?Off court, there’s plenty of drama too. WTA CEO Portia Archer’s sudden exit raises eyebrows, while Italy continues its tennis takeover with the Next Gen Finals heading there. Is it the Sinner effect or is there something more to it? Plus, we react to Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle’s split, Camila Giorgi’s return announcement from the wilderness, and ask the big question on everyone’s lips - is it finally time for Venus Williams to hang up her racket?SOCIALSFollow us on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, plus email the show tennisweeklypod@gmail.com.MERCHPurchase Tennis Weekly Merch through our Etsy store including limited edition designs by Krippa Design where all proceeds go towards the podcast so we can keep doing what we do!REVIEWS***Please take a moment to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. It really means a lot to us at HQ and helps make it easier for new listeners to discover us. Thanks!*** Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.