Excessive video-gaming and too many rounds of day-off golf may have landed Carlos Alcaraz in wrist injury hell, with Italian Eurosport speculating on the lack of off-court discipline by the Spaniard.

Alcaraz, who lost the world No. 1 ranking last month to no-nonsense rival Jannik Sinner, is out for the count this clay season and could well miss the grass and Wimbledon under the most pessimistic scenario.

Eurosport commentators put the boot into the 22-year-old’s constant video game habit as well as his penchant for hitting the golf course at every opportunity.

The habits stand in sharp contrast to the work ethic of Sinner and that of iconic Swiss Roger Federer, who was unable to indulge in skiing during all of his career for fear of injury.

Not so for Alcaraz, who is now sitting out ATP play as a possible result of his indulgences.

“We’ve done a little research. Can playing too much golf have an impact? It certainly could,” one commentator said. .

“Spending hours playing video games — and I think many of you have done this — can cause pain in your fingers, hands, or wrists after a while, if you keep playing.

“If he hadn’t done it, would the same inflammation have developed? Maybe yes, maybe not.

“The life of an athlete at this level is also a life of sacrifice.”

He added: “The wrist is vulnerable, and sometimes you have to take care of your body while also understanding that, as a professional athlete, you may have to give up things you enjoy because it could make the situation worse.

“You could inflame a body part by doing movements you can avoid.

Casper Ruud’s Madrid Masters title defence was laid to waste on Thursday as the Norwegian found his way impeded by Belgian outsider Alexander Blockx 6-4, 6-4.

The world No. 69 winner powered into the smei-fibals on the clay of the Spanish capital, posting one of the biggest wins of his career.

Blockx is new to clay success, never winning a match on the surface until a fortnight ago when he booked into the Monte Carlo quarters where he lost to Alex de Minaur.

Prior to his upset loss, Ruud had dropped just five games at the Caja Magica in his first two matches before outlasting Stefanos Tsitsipas in a struggle of three tiebreak sets.

The loss sends Ruud out of the ranking top 20 for the first time in five years.

Blockx added the two-time Roland Garros finalist to a Madrid upset list which also includes Felix Auger-Aliassime.

“I’m just happy with being here. I barely escaped in the first round, and I was happy about that already. 

“Semi-finals is something I wouldn’t have even dreamed of to begin with,” Blockx said. .

“I’m proud of how I’ve played these past couple of matches. I think the conditions suit me well here. I feel like it’s clay which is slow, so I have time to settle and hit my shots, go for my shots.”

Ruud lost in 96 minutes; Blockx will wait for a  semi-final opponent as second-seeded two-time Madrid champion Alexander Zverev faces Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.

Alexander Zverev backed up a win this month over Flavio Cobolli and moved into elite ATP company as the third seed reached another semi-final at the Madrid Masters on Thursday.

The German’s 6-4, 6-1 win boosted him alongside Roger Federer (2006), Rafael Nadal (2010, 2011) and Jannik Sinner (2026) as only the fourth man to reach the semi-finals at each of the first four Masters 1000 events of the season since the series began in 1990.

The two-time Madrid champion reached the final four on the back of eight aces to complete his third top 20 win of the season.