World number one Carlos Alcaraz said Tuesday he was pulling out of this week's Shanghai Masters because of "physical issues", shortly after winning the Japan Open.
The Spaniard hurt his ankle in his opening match in Tokyo but shrugged off the issue to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final in the Japanese capital on Tuesday.
Hours later, the 22-year-old posted on Instagram, saying: "I'm very disappointed to announce that I won't be able to play the Rolex Shanghai Masters this year!
"Unfortunately I've been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover."
"I was really looking forward to playing in front of the amazing fans in Shanghai again," added the recently crowned US Open champion.
"I hope to be back soon and see my Chinese fans next year!"
Alcaraz injured his ankle last week as he ran for a shot, crumpling to the ground and sitting on the court for about five minutes.
He returned to play with heavy strapping on his ankle and admitted that the injury had been on his mind throughout the tournament.
"The start of the week was not really good with the ankle, and the way that I came back from that, playing a great tournament and great matches, I'm just really happy about it," he said following his title win.
It was his eighth title of a sensational season.
