'It's worrying' - Mats Wilander on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner injuries and ball inconsistencies at French Open

Mats Wilander has called the growing trend of injuries among younger tennis players "worrying". Both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, two of the tournament's favourites, have shown signs of physical strain in the opening two rounds. Wilander believes that their explosive play styles and ball inconsistencies are some of the factors to blame.

'Carlos is right, the game is faster!' - Wilander on Alcaraz and young players getting injured

Video credit: TNT Sports

Mats Wilander has called the growing trend of injuries among the younger generation of players "worrying" as notably both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are clearly not 100 per cent in this year's French Open.

World No. 2 Sinner held off home favourite Richard Gasquet in the second round while No. 3 Alcaraz survived an unconvincing win over Jesper de Jong. Both the Italian and the Spaniard showed signs of struggling physically as their matches wore on.

French Open favourite Alcaraz has been battling a forearm injury for two months and was forced to pull out of the Italian Open before the tournament in Paris.

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"It seems like the younger generation is getting more and more injured," Wilander said on Eurosport's coverage of Roland-Garros.

"I think that Carlos is right, the game is faster, it's more explosive.

"When you watch Jannik Sinner play and the way that he moves on a clay court, it looks pretty smooth. But they're going into splits and they're sliding on the side of their feet, then you add the heavy tennis balls for the arm, for Carlos Alcaraz."

Tennis tournaments are free to sign their own contracts with tennis ball manufacturers, and the balls' quality can vary wildly. Many players have blamed the inconsistencies in balls from one tournament to the next on injuries, particularly in the arm.

"You would think one day that the ATP and the WTA would say, 'you know what, we're gonna play with the same tennis ball on every surface or in every tournament', at least on the same surface," said Wilander.

"But it's worrying, it's definitely worrying. Of course, we've gotten used to Rafael Nadal and he was maybe one of the more explosive, more physically demanding players that we've ever had, but Alcaraz and Sinner - physically very demanding ways of playing tennis. So it's worrying."

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Video credit: TNT Sports

While the busy schedule and factors such as tennis ball inconsistency are contributors to injuries, Wilander also believes that the players' own playing styles are huge aspects in the discussion.

"It definitely is because they're trying to play so big. They're trying to go pretty much full out all the time, so that's changed, that's why the game is faster.

"That's why it's probably more enjoyable to watch these younger guys when they are on."

Equally, the weather for this year's clay court season so far has been lacklustre, with rain delays affecting the opening two rounds of Roland-Garros already.

"At the same time, the whole clay court season has been pretty cold," Wilander added. "And that makes a difference when you're out there for five, six weeks and every week it's a little colder than normal, the tennis are balls are heavier than normal and different.

"So I think it's something they need to address in the way they train and their scheduling. It's tough, because they're forced to play a lot of tournaments these days."

Sinner and Alcaraz both play their third-round matches on Friday, with the Italian facing Russian Pavel Kotov, and the Spaniard taking on American player Sebastian Korda.