India, Aug. 6 -- Twelve months ago, Carlos Alcaraz left Cincinnati with another trophy and the feeling that men's tennis was beginning to bend around him. He had defeated Jannik Sinner in a curtailed final, added another Masters 1000 title to a remarkable season and strengthened the impression that his rise was becoming dominant.

This year, Alcaraz will not defend that title. A lingering right-wrist injury has forced him out of Cincinnati and extended an absence that has lasted since April. The contrast is difficult to ignore: one year after charging through the sport's biggest stages, the 23-year-old is trying simply to make his body ready for competition again.

The withdrawal is not an isolated interruption. Alcaraz has not played sin...