Alcaraz wins Japan Open, his first title after injury

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz is holding the trophy and talking after he beat Czech Republic's Jiri Lehecka in the men's singles final at the Japan Open tennis tournament. The event took place at the Ariake Tennis Forest Park in Tokyo on October 6, 2026.

Alcaraz won his first title since coming back from a four-month injury break. He beat Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in the final on Tuesday.

As the top seed and defending champion, Alcaraz had to fight hard against world number 19 Lehecka. This win marks his first trophy since the Qatar Open in February.

This was Alcaraz's third tournament since he returned from a wrist injury. He had already made it to the US Open quarter-finals and played at the Laver Cup.

"A lot of negative thoughts come to your mind: if you’re going to come back healthy, if you’re going to be the same as I was before," Alcaraz shared.

"A lot of thoughts came to my mind, but I tried to put those thoughts away all the time.

"My team and I knew that when I came back, I was going to be healthy 100 percent, and if I feel something, it’s not going to be anything at all."

This victory is Alcaraz's third title of the year. It includes his win at the Australian Open and brings his career total to 27 titles.

Alcaraz entered the final with a 3-1 record against Lehecka. Lehecka was looking to win his first title of the year.

Lehecka started strong, breaking Alcaraz's serve right away. He did not give Alcaraz any time to settle in.

Alcaraz broke back in a long battle midway through the first set. He then showed his power in the next game.

Lehecka was tough to beat, though. Alcaraz needed to pull out some amazing drop shots to win the first set in a tiebreak.

Lehecka kept making things difficult for Alcaraz. But the defending champion broke Lehecka's serve midway through the second set and finished the match without mistakes.

Alcaraz is set to play in the Shanghai Masters starting Wednesday. He had to pull out of last year's tournament at the last minute after winning in Tokyo. He cited "physical issues" and criticized tennis's busy schedule.