French Open Roland Garros ATP 2026: Draw, Schedule, Entry List and Predictions

Cristhian Avila, Editor for TennisUpToDate sees Jannik Sinner as champion.

For years we had not arrived at a major with such an absolute candidate – and the absence of Carlos Alcaraz makes it difficult to give a name capable of surpassing Jannik Sinner. The dominance he has transferred onto the courts makes him the clear favourite, and very few exceptions could change things in Paris.

The name of Novak Djokovic emerges as the main chance of seeing a champion different from Sinner. The Serbian already defeated him at the Australian Open and is one of the few players who has enough to surprise him over five sets. But for that, he needs to arrive in excellent physical condition – and even hope that Sinner does not play at his best level. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is always a contender, it is just that this time the gap is very wide for him to realistically overcome Sinner.

Alexander Zverev is another player called to challenge the Italian, although consistently throughout his career he has come up short. Will this be his great chance? Without a doubt, an inspired Zverev would trouble Sinner, but maintaining consistency from beginning to end looks complicated – and the recent defeat in Madrid made clear the wide difference separating them.

Among the possible surprises, Arthur Fils is a name who could think about taking new steps forward at a Grand Slam tournament, and it would not be a surprise to see him eliminating practically anyone inside the top 10. We will also have to watch what the Spaniards Rafael Jodar and Martin Landaluce do, as during this swing they went from being unknown names to players feared on clay courts. With the level they showed in Madrid and Rome, surely nobody wants to face them in the draw – much less in the early rounds.

*** Jannik Sinner

** Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev

* Arthur Fils, Rafael Jodar, Martin Landaluce

Lucas Michael, Editor for TennisUpToDate.com also sees Jannik Sinner sealing the title.

The clay swing may be coming to an end, but there is still one more tournament left: Roland Garros. It does not get much better than this, but from an ATP point of view the writing may already be on the wall for the competition.

Jannik Sinner looks unbeatable. He has adapted to a surface that has not been his favourite in recent times, but all the while is still too good for anyone. He goes to Paris searching for the final Grand Slam that evaded him last year after spurning a two-set lead and three match points. With Carlos Alcaraz not competing and the motivation for redemption, I can see no other result that Sinner lifting the title, and quite comfortably.

So, the bigger question is who will he face in the latter stages? Novak Djokovic has to be in the hunt. The 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated the Italian in a stunning five-set battle in Melbourne earlier that year. How much of that performance was down to his laid-back run to that stage could have been a factor, and fitness may also halt his charge in Paris.

Alexander Zverev will likely be in the business end but I do not see a world where he gets past Sinner, or even Djokovic if he is 100% healthy. Alex de Minaur’s form has dropped off a cliff, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz are not notorious clay players, and Ben Shelton has not hit his stride since winning in Munich.

Other contenders include players outside the top 10. Casper Ruud is returning to his best on a favourable clay surface. The two-time Roalnd Garros finalist will be a huge threat, and so will the Italian duo of Flavio Cobolli and Luciano Darderi who could go on a deep charge.

However, the Italian contingent will only come to see one man, who for my money will not only win Roland Garros, but will do it without dropping a set.

*** Jannik Sinner

** Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud

* Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Flavio Cobolli