FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Mubadala World Tennis Championship - International Tennis Centre, Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - December 18, 2022 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in action during his 3rd Place Play-off match against Norway's Casper Ruud REUTERS/Satish Kumar
(Reuters) - World number one Carlos Alcaraz will begin his season on clay at next month's Argentina Open after being forced to pull out of the Australian Open with a right leg injury.
The 19-year-old Spaniard will be missing the season's opening Grand Slam event, which begins in Melbourne on Monday, due to a muscle problem in his right leg.
"I'm really looking forward to starting my season in Buenos Aires this year, playing in a historic tournament that has been won by great champions," the U.S. Open champion, who is the first teenager to top the ATP rankings, said in a statement.
"The truth is I was very keen to go to Argentina, to play there, so I hope to see you all soon."
Alcarez missed the ATP Finals and Davis Cup at the end of last season after tearing an abdominal muscle during the Paris Masters. Last month he said that he was back to almost full fitness but then suffered a setback by picking up the leg injury during pre-season training.
Alcaraz will join Diego Schwartzman, Cameron Norrie, Dominic Thiem and Lorenzo Musetti in the Argentina Open field.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
