Alcaraz pulls out of Basel with injury

World number two Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from this month's Swiss Indoors championships in Basel due to injury, organisers said on Wednesday.

Alcaraz's withdrawal is a blow to his hopes of gaining ground on Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings, with the top-ranked Serbian next in action at the Paris Masters beginning on Oct. 30.

"Alcaraz had to cancel his start at the Swiss Indoors (October 21-29) today due to an injury," organisers said in a statement.

"According to his doctor's bulletin, the world number two is suffering from an inflammation of the sole of his left foot and problems in his gluteal muscles."

Two-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, 20, was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov in the Shanghai Masters round of 16 earlier this month.