Princess Charlotte is said to be facing a disappointing summer after her favourite tennis player, Carlos Alcaraz, announced he would be withdrawing from both Queen’s and Wimbledon due to injury.
The 11-year-old royal has become a familiar face at Wimbledon in recent years, regularly attending the prestigious tournament alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales and her brothers, Prince George, 12, and Prince Louis, eight.
Charlotte is also known to be a huge fan of Spanish tennis superstar Alcaraz, often enthusiastically cheering him on from the Royal Box during his matches.
However, the young princess will not get the chance to watch the two-time Wimbledon champion compete this year after the 23-year-old confirmed he was pulling out of the grass-court season while recovering from a wrist injury.
Taking to X on Tuesday, Alcaraz shared the disappointing update with fans.
“My recovery is going well and I feel much better, but unfortunately I’m still not ready to be able to play, and that’s why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen’s and Wimbledon.
“They are two really special tournaments for me and I’ll miss them a lot. We keep working to return as soon as possible!”
The injury setback comes after Alcaraz was also forced to withdraw from the French Open earlier this month.
Widely regarded as one of the biggest stars in world tennis, the Spaniard claimed back-to-back Wimbledon titles in 2023 and 2024 before falling to Jannik Sinner in last year’s final.
Following his 2024 victory, Charlotte shared a sweet moment with the tennis champion while meeting him alongside her mother, Princess Catherine.
“This is Charlotte, [she was] cheering you on. You had everything crossed,” Catherine was filmed telling the tennis star.
“We’ve watched a lot on telly, so it’s great to finally get to meet you.”
Wimbledon later shared a photograph of the exchange online, writing: “A handshake for the champion from HRH Princess Charlotte.”
While Charlotte may be disappointed about missing out on seeing her sporting hero in action this year, the young royal is set to receive a thoughtful gift from her grandfather, King Charles III.
The King and Queen Camilla began an unannounced three-day visit to Northern Ireland on Tuesday, where Charles met several young entrepreneurs supported by The King’s Trust.
During the visit, jewellery business owner Rachel Rose presented the monarch with a special charm intended for Charlotte.
“Thank you, she will love that,” Charles replied.
Charlotte is believed to share a particularly close relationship with her grandfather, despite the monarch missing her 11th birthday celebrations earlier this month while travelling in Bermuda.
To mark the occasion on May 2, the Prince and Princess of Wales shared a new photograph of their daughter enjoying the Easter school holidays in Cornwall.
“Wishing Charlotte a very happy 11th birthday!” Kensington Palace captioned the image, which showed the princess smiling in a field of daisies wearing jeans and a striped knit jumper.
A second video from the family getaway was later posted online, showing Charlotte bowling a cricket ball, patting the family’s dogs Orla and Otto and writing messages in the sand using shells.
“Thank you for the lovely birthday messages for Princess Charlotte, 11 today!” the caption read.