Carlos Alcaraz and two other prominent female tennis players will not compete in Rome

Spanish tennis player and the second-ranked ATP player, Carlos Alcaraz, has withdrawn from the clay-court Masters in Rome, Italy.

"I felt discomfort in my hand. Today, I underwent tests and discovered muscle swelling - a consequence of my recent injury. Unfortunately, I will not be able to compete in Rome. I need rest to recover and play at 100% without pain," confessed Alcaraz.

Carlos played in the ATP 1000 tournament in Madrid this week, where he lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals.

Two well-known tennis players have also withdrawn from the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome: former world number one Karolina Pliskova and second-ranked American Jessica Pegula.

Replacing them in the main draw are Grete Minnen (Belgium), Wang Yafan (China), and Mayar Sherif (Egypt).

The competitions in Rome for both men and women will take place from May 8th to May 19th.