French Open 2026 Preview | Sinner Clear Favourite After Historic Madrid Title

Jannik Sinner enters Roland Garros 2026 as the clearest favourite at a clay Grand Slam in years — and arguably the most dominant player in men’s tennis right now. His Madrid Open final victory over Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2 produced the highest performance rating ever recorded on the LiveTennis system, completing a run of three consecutive titles: Australian Open, Monte Carlo and Madrid. He did not drop a set all week in Madrid and did not face a single break point in the semi-final or final. Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion, has confirmed his withdrawal from Roland Garros after tests revealed tendon inflammation and cartilage damage in his right wrist. With Alcaraz absent, no player in the draw comes close to Sinner’s current form or ranking. Sinner has now extended his clay run with a fourth consecutive Masters 1000 title — beating Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the Italian Open final — completing the Career Golden Masters (only Djokovic has done it). Elina Svitolina won the WTA Rome title beating Rybakina, Swiatek and Gauff on 17 May. The 2026 French Open runs from 24 May to 7 June.

The 2026 French Open runs from 24 May to 7 June at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris. Coco Gauff defends the women’s title she won in 2025, while the men’s draw has been transformed by Jannik Sinner‘s record-breaking clay season and Carlos Alcaraz‘s confirmed withdrawal. Below you will find the latest news, updated contender analysis for both tours, tournament details, and how to watch Roland Garros in the UK. See also our 2026 Roland-Garros draw analysis (draw is in; Sinner v Tabur opens, Djokovic v Mpetshi Perricard, Wawrinka v De Jong after Fils withdrawal), Britain at Roland-Garros 2026 (4 in main draw after Draper + Kartal withdrawals, with R1 results), Francesca Jones’ first Grand Slam main-draw win, Roland-Garros 2026 qualifying tracker, prize money breakdown, Nadal at Roland-Garros career retrospective, and the complete French Open winners list.

French Open 2026 Key Facts

Detail	Info
Tournament	French Open 2026 (Roland Garros)
Dates	24 May – 7 June 2026
Venue	Stade Roland-Garros, Paris, France
Surface	Clay (Terre Battue, outdoor)
Draw size	128 Men’s Singles / 128 Women’s Singles
Prize money	EUR 56.4 million (full breakdown)
Men’s defending champion	Carlos Alcaraz (2024, 2025)
Women’s defending champion	Coco Gauff (2025)
UK TV	TNT Sports / Discovery+

Alcaraz Withdraws: What Happened

Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed he will miss both the Italian Open in Rome and the French Open. The wrist injury that first surfaced during the Barcelona Open in mid-April — when he withdrew after winning his opening match — has been diagnosed as a combination of tendon inflammation and cartilage damage. Alcaraz also missed the Madrid Open, meaning he has not played a competitive match since early April.

“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome and Roland Garros, while we wait to assess the evolution to decide when we will return to the court,” Alcaraz said in a statement.

The withdrawal means Alcaraz will lose his status as defending champion at both Rome and Roland Garros, shedding approximately 3,000 ATP ranking points in the process. His lead over Sinner in the rankings, which had been around 2,000 points before the clay swing, will reverse significantly. The two-time Roland Garros champion had been chasing a third consecutive title at Roland Garros; that pursuit now carries over to 2027.

The Draw Is In: What It Tells Us

The Roland-Garros 2026 main draw was published Thursday 22 May. Key R1 highlights: Jannik Sinner opens against French wildcard Clément Tabur — the cleanest possible start; Novak Djokovic drew Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, one of the toughest seed-vs-floater openers in the men’s draw; Arthur Fils was scheduled to open against Stan Wawrinka but pulled out on 23 May with back/hip pain (replaced by lucky loser Jesper De Jong). On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka faces Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, Iga Swiatek opens against Emerson Jones (with Jelena Ostapenko looming in R3 — 6-0 head-to-head), and Coco Gauff drew Taylor Townsend in a competitive R1.

Sinner and Djokovic landed in opposite halves; Sabalenka and Gauff are in the same half (projected SF). Swiatek faces arguably the brutalest projected route of any top seed at a Slam in recent memory: Ostapenko (R3), Madrid champion Marta Kostyuk (R4), then Rome champion Elina Svitolina (QF rematch from the Rome semi-final).

For the full quarter-by-quarter breakdown and projected paths, see our 2026 Roland-Garros draw analysis.

Other Notable Withdrawals

Alongside Alcaraz, five further high-profile names have withdrawn before main-draw play:

• Lorenzo Musetti — rectus femoris injury picked up after his Rome semi-final run. The Italian was a genuine dark horse on clay this season.
• Jack Draper — knee injury. The British No. 1 misses his second straight clay Slam.
• Holger Rune — the Dane is out through injury after his Madrid Achilles concern.
• Arthur Fils — withdrew on 23 May with persistent back/hip pain, the issue that ended his Rome campaign. Replaced by lucky loser Jesper De Jong as Wawrinka’s R1 opponent.
• Sonay Kartal — withdraws from the women’s main draw through injury.

The combined effect is a draw where Sinner’s path is the cleanest at a clay Slam in years, and Britain’s main-draw contingent drops from six to four.

French Open 2026 Men’s Contenders

Jannik Sinner — The Clear Favourite

Jannik Sinner enters Roland Garros 2026 as the clear favourite and arguably the most dominant clay-court player in the world right now. Since January he has won three consecutive titles: the Australian Open, Monte Carlo — beating Alcaraz 7-6(5), 6-3 in the final — and Madrid, where he beat Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2 in the final without dropping a set or facing a break point in either the semi-final or the final. His Madrid performance produced the highest performance rating ever recorded on the LiveTennis system.

With Alcaraz confirmed absent, Sinner arrives in Paris with no credible rival at the top of the rankings and a form line that has no equivalent in the draw. The Italian reached the 2025 Roland Garros final before falling to Alcaraz in a five-set classic; that experience, combined with three consecutive titles, makes him the most complete favourite at a clay Grand Slam in years. The only question at Roland Garros is not whether he can win — but whether anyone can stop him.

Alexander Zverev

Zverev is the most consistent clay-court performer outside the top two. The German has reached the French Open final twice (2020, 2024) without winning, and that near-miss record underlines both his quality and the ceiling he has yet to break through. He remains a genuine contender, particularly if the draw is weakened by absentees.

Casper Ruud

Ruud is a three-time Roland Garros finalist (2022, 2023, 2024) and his Paris pedigree is among the best on tour. His Madrid title defence ended in the quarter-finals — beaten 6-4, 6-4 by qualifier Alexander Blockx — which was a setback, but Roland Garros has consistently been where Ruud performs above his ranking. If the draw opens up, his finals experience and clay-court game make him a genuine semi-final and beyond contender.

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic withdrew from the Madrid Open with a shoulder injury, adding further uncertainty to an already disrupted clay swing. The Serb is a three-time Roland Garros champion (2016, 2021, 2023) and remains a threat when fully fit, but at 38 years old, managing his schedule to arrive at Roland Garros healthy is the primary challenge. His French Open participation has not yet been confirmed.

Dark Horses

Madrid produced three players who must now be taken seriously at Roland Garros. Arthur Fils arrived in Madrid having won Barcelona, extended a nine-match winning streak through the draw and reached the semi-finals before losing to Sinner. However, Fils withdrew from Roland-Garros 2026 on 23 May with persistent back/hip pain — the form line stands for the rest of his clay season, but he will not feature in Paris. Rafael Jódar — the 19-year-old Madrileño who beat de Minaur and Fonseca before losing to Sinner in the quarter-finals — will make his Roland Garros main draw debut seeded, in the top 34, and already carrying the scalp of a top-5 player. Alexander Blockx reached the semi-finals as a qualifier, beating Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals despite never having won an ATP Tour clay match before this season. He enters Roland Garros ranked No. 35 with the most dramatic clay-court breakthrough on tour in years.

Holger Rune withdrew from Roland-Garros 2026 through injury after his Madrid Achilles concern; he has shown genuine clay-court quality in recent seasons but the Paris main draw is without him. João Fonseca reached the Monte Carlo quarter-finals on clay debut at 18 and is adapting rapidly to life at the top level.

French Open 2026 Women’s Contenders

Aryna Sabalenka — World No. 1

Aryna Sabalenka arrives as world No. 1 and the most dominant player on the WTA Tour in 2026. Her clay-court game has improved significantly in recent seasons — she won Madrid in 2025 and her aggressive baseline play generates results on the slower surface even if her best tennis historically has come on hard courts. Her Madrid title defence ended in the quarter-finals — beaten by American qualifier Hailey Baptiste — which was the most significant setback of her clay season. Despite that, she remains the favourite on ranking and overall form, and her Roland Garros game (heavy serve, aggressive baseline) gives her the best floor in the draw.

Iga Swiatek — Three-Time Champion

Iga Swiatek is a three-time Roland Garros champion (2020, 2022, 2023) and has lost only a handful of matches at the tournament throughout her career. Her heavy topspin forehand and extraordinary footwork on clay make Roland Garros her best surface by a clear margin. A return to peak form after a mixed 2025 would make her the most dangerous player in the women’s half of the draw.

Coco Gauff — Defending Champion

Coco Gauff defends the title she won in 2025 with a final victory over Sabalenka. Gauff has been among the most consistent players on the WTA Tour in 2026, and her game suits Roland Garros well — she moves exceptionally well from the baseline, competes fiercely on the big points, and handles the pressure of major occasions better than almost any player on tour.

Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina is one of the most feared servers in women’s tennis and has delivered consistently in Grand Slams. Her serve-and-forehand game may be slightly more naturally suited to faster surfaces, but she has the weapons and the temperament to beat anyone at Roland Garros and must be considered a genuine contender for the title.

Marta Kostyuk — Madrid Champion & Dark Horse

Marta Kostyuk arrives at Roland Garros as the Madrid Open champion — her first WTA 1000 title — and the form player on the WTA clay circuit in 2026. She went 12-0 on clay this season without dropping a set in Madrid, beating Pegula, Noskova, Potapova and Andreeva along the way. The Ukrainian enters seeded, with a game built for clay — heavy topspin, patient construction, excellent movement — and must be considered a genuine dark horse for the title.

Mirra Andreeva — Finalist Form

Mirra Andreeva reached the Madrid final, beating Sabalenka in the quarter-finals before losing to Kostyuk 3-6, 5-7. Now ranked No. 7 in the world, the 19-year-old Russian enters Roland Garros with the best clay-court form of her career and must be taken seriously as a title contender. She beat Swiatek at Stuttgart earlier in the clay season.

French Open 2026 Betting Tips

For our full outright betting analysis, see our French Open 2026 outright betting tips. The full betting cluster includes: women’s outright tips, each-way value picks, specials & player markets (Career Slam, top Brit, most aces), and acca / multi-bet builder. Sinner leads the men’s market following his Career Golden Masters at Rome; Sabalenka and Swiatek head the women’s.

18+ | Please Gamble Responsibly | Odds approximate at time of writing, check Bet365 for latest prices

How to Watch the French Open 2026 Live

The simplest way to watch the French Open live is through the Bet365 live streaming service. Bet365 offers live coverage of ATP and WTA matches to account holders with a funded account or who have placed a bet in the last 24 hours.

To watch the French Open live on Bet365:

1. Go to Bet365.com via this special link
2. Register an account, make a first deposit and bet £10 to receive £30 in Bet Credits*
3. Once registered, go to the sports homepage and select Tennis from the left-hand menu
4. Select the play icon next to any French Open match in progress and the stream window will appear

UK viewers can also watch live on TNT Sports and stream via Discovery+, which holds the UK broadcast rights for Roland Garros.

*New customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets for new customers at bet365. Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply. 18+ BeGambleAware.org

FAQs

When does the French Open 2026 start?

The 2026 French Open begins on Sunday 24 May 2026 and concludes with the men’s and women’s finals on 6 and 7 June at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris.

Is Carlos Alcaraz playing the French Open 2026?

No. The two-time defending champion has confirmed his withdrawal from Roland-Garros 2026 through a right wrist injury (tendon inflammation and cartilage damage). He missed Rome and Roland-Garros and loses approximately 3,000 ranking points as a result.

Who else has withdrawn from Roland-Garros 2026?

Alongside Alcaraz, five further high-profile names are out: Lorenzo Musetti (rectus femoris), Jack Draper (knee), Holger Rune (injury), Sonay Kartal (injury), and Arthur Fils (back/hip, withdrew 23 May). Six total high-profile withdrawals reshape the draw in Sinner’s favour.

Who is the favourite for the French Open 2026?

Jannik Sinner is the clear favourite following the Alcaraz withdrawal. He arrives at Roland Garros as the world No. 1, having won the Australian Open, Monte Carlo and Madrid — three consecutive titles across hard and clay. Zverev and Ruud are the next most credible contenders. See our French Open 2026 betting tips for the latest odds and our outright selections.

Where is the French Open played?

The French Open is played at Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The main show court is Court Philippe-Chatrier, which features a retractable roof. The surface is red clay (Terre Battue).

How can I watch the French Open in the UK?

The French Open is broadcast live on TNT Sports and available to stream on Discovery+. You can also watch live via the Bet365 streaming service with a funded account or a bet placed in the last 24 hours.