MADRID

Carlos Alcaraz, the teenager billed as Rafael Nadal’s heir and Spain’s biggest name in the Davis Cup finals, tested positive for the coronavirus and was removed from the squad on Thursday.

Alcaraz, 18, who would be making his first Davis Cup appearance, said on social media he was sad to miss “such an important and special tournament as the Davis Cup”.

“I was very excited to be able to play and represent my country here in Madrid in front of our fans,” he said. “But sometimes things don’t turn out the way we want them to and you have to get over that. It’s a very hard blow but you have to get up and come out stronger.

Alcaraz was due to play in Group A’s meeting with Ecuador on Friday.

The International Tennis Federation said earlier that a member of the Spanish team had tested positive for the coronavirus and had been put in isolation, but did not name the player. The other members of the Spanish team took another PCR test.

The 32nd Alcaraz, who just won a title in the Next Gen ATP Finals, will be replaced by No.60 Pedro Martínez.

The other members of the Spanish team are Pablo Carreno Busta, Alberto Ramos-Vinolas, Feliciano López and Marcel Granollers. The team captain is Sergi Bruguera.

Spain were already without Nadal due to injury, and they lost 19th Roberto Bautista Agut earlier this week due to an abdominal injury.

Spain are the reigning champions of the Davis Cup finals which are played in Madrid, Innsbruck and Turin. The first day of competition was Thursday in all three cities.

Matches in Austria are being played without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic. The capacity is 60% in Turin and 75% in Madrid.