Italian Open 2025: 3 Major Candidates to Win the Title

The Italian Open will start on Wednesday (May 7th, 2025). Alexander Zverev is the defending champion at this year’s event. He beat Nicolas Jarry in the final to win his second title in the Italian capital. However, this year, the storylines are going beyond the German.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Italian Open, and he is likely to enter Roland Garros without winning a single clay-court match. The Serbian played in Geneva last year to gain match fitness for the French Open. It remains to be seen if he takes the same route this time. Here, we will determine the three candidates who can win the Italian Open this time.

3. Jannik Sinner

The World No.1 is returning to the professional tennis tour at the Italian Open after a three-month suspension. Sinner had agreed on a three-month suspension as part of the WADA agreement. Now, he is returning in front of his adoring fans in the Rome Masters. The Italian missed the Rome Masters last season as he suffered a hip injury. That injury hampered his entire clay-court season from the start.

The expectations are different this season as he is headlining the tournament as the top seed. However, there will be rust in his game that he will try to remove immediately. Considering he has been unbeaten on the tour since October last year, Sinner has a chance to go to Rome. However, he would need to start performing at the level that he was performing before his ban.

2. Carlos Alcaraz

Standing at two is Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning Roland Garros champion. The Spaniard started the clay season well after winning Monte Carlo. However, Holger Rune stopped him at the Barcelona Open final. An even bigger problem in the Barcelona Open final came regarding his fitness. After the first set, Alcaraz was seen stretching his groin. After his treatment, his movement looked hampered as he lost 7-6, 6-2.

As a result of his injury, Alcaraz had to withdraw from the Madrid Open. After settling for the MRI, the Spaniard remained tight-lipped on participating in the Italian Open. Now, with the tournament around the corner, Alcaraz has yet to signal his participation. He will be a contender regardless of his fitness if he plays the tournament.

1. Alexander Zverev

When it comes to the favorite of the Italian Open, Alexander Zverev looks to be the favorite. The German is a two-time former champion at the event and knows what it takes to excel on the Rome clay courts. Despite having a shaky last few months after losing the Australian Open final, Zverev seems to have found form again after winning the Italian Open.

Zverev hopes to gain more confidence before Roland Garros by winning the Italian Open. With Djokovic out of the way, he has a chance to win this Masters 1000 event for the third time. However, his chances of winning depend heavily on Sinner and Alcaraz’s form. The good news is that Zverev has avoided both of them in the draw and can only meet one of them in the final.