Carlos Alcaraz Wins the Paris Masters for the First Time

Carlos Alcaraz beat Ben Shelton 7-6(5), 7-5 in the final on Sunday 8 November to win the Paris Masters for the first time. It is his ninth Masters 1000 title, his fifth title of 2026 and the 29th of his career, and it came a week after he won the Vienna Open.

How the Final Was Won

Shelton had the early chances. Alcaraz was 0-40 down on his serve at 1-2 and saved four break points to hold, and at 3-3 Shelton saved two break points of his own with two fine volleys. The first set went to a tie-break, and Alcaraz was the steadier player in it, taking it 7-5 on his second set point when Shelton hit a forehand long after 65 minutes.

Shelton broke midway through the second set, but Alcaraz hit back with a run of forehand winners to level at 4-4 and kept going. He won it 7-5 on his second match point, with a forehand pass and then a backhand into the open court, after an hour and 57 minutes. It was revenge for the US Open quarter-final in September, which Shelton won in five sets, and Alcaraz now leads their head-to-head 4-1. Our final preview has the full history.

His Route to the Title

The quarter-final was the closest call. Fritz had two match points in the second set, and Alcaraz’s win over him also decided the last place at the ATP Finals, which went to his countryman Rafael Jódar. Against Ruud in the semi-finals he did not face a break point.

The End of the Paris Jinx

Paris had been the one big indoor title that kept getting away. Before this week his best result there was the quarter-finals, and he said after the final that some of the toughest defeats of his career had come in this event. He has now won seven of the nine Masters 1000 events, with only Canada and Shanghai missing.

• He is the third man, after Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, to win a Masters 1000 title in five seasons in a row.
• He now has 16 Big Titles (Grand Slams, ATP Finals, Masters 1000 events and Olympic gold), one behind Jannik Sinner‘s 17.
• Since returning from a wrist injury that kept him out for four months, including Roland Garros and Wimbledon, he has won 19 of his 21 matches and the titles in Tokyo, Vienna and Paris.
• Only Sinner, with six, has won more titles than Alcaraz in 2026.

Shelton’s Week

Shelton was in his third Masters 1000 final and his first outside Canada, where he won in 2025 and 2026. He beat Cameron Norrie, Arthur Rinderknech, Tommy Paul and Luca Van Assche on the way, three of them in three sets, and his win over Paul put Frances Tiafoe into Turin. He takes home €532,120 and 650 ranking points, while Alcaraz collects €974,370 and 1,000. Shelton is now 1-19 against top-three opponents. He adds Alcaraz’s former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero to his team for 2027.

A French Title in the Doubles

The French wildcards Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert won the doubles, beating the second seeds Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 10-8 in front of a home crowd. Their win also confirmed Harri Heliovaara and Britain’s Henry Patten as the year-end world No. 1 doubles team, the first time they have finished the season on top.

Next Stop: Turin

Alcaraz and Shelton both go to the ATP Finals in Turin (15 to 22 November), Alcaraz third in the Race to Turin on 6,100 points and Shelton fourth on 5,520. The groups are drawn on Thursday 12 November, at about 11:45 UK time. Alcaraz was runner-up to Sinner in 2025, and with Sinner out injured he goes to Turin as one of the favourites.

More Coverage

• Paris Masters 2026 hub
• Paris Masters winners: every champion
• Paris Masters 2026 prize money
• Tiafoe and Jódar complete the ATP Finals field
• ATP Finals 2026 hub
• All tournaments