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Carlos Alcaraz has been forced out of several high profile tournaments due to a wrist injury he suffered at the Barcelona Open.

The star was forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, and Roland Garros and he has now confirmed that he will not play the grass court swing either.

In his absence, Jannik Sinner has dominated the ATP Tour landscape. The World No. 1 has won every tournament he has played since Alcaraz’s injury.

Despite their storied rivalry on the tennis court, Sinner and Alcaraz have a deep respect and the Italian has sent a message to the injured star.

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In an interview with French publication, Paris Match, Sinner called Alcaraz’s recent injury struggles “Unfortunate news.”

“Obviously, I know him very well, including on a personal level, and he’s going through a very difficult time. But at the same time, you know, it’s sport, and sport is very unpredictable,” he continued.

“Injuries come and go. It’s like success and victories. They also come and go, but he’s still very young. And I think the absolute priority is to get 100% healed and not rush things, because that could have consequences for the rest of his career. And that’s very dangerous.

“But at the same time, even if Carlos were to play, I know we could only meet in the final. There’s still a long way to go, and a lot can happen. This sport is very unpredictable, and I’m fully focused on my game. On what I have to do. And then we’ll see what happens.”

Despite their dominance at the big events, Sinner and Alcaraz have only played one ATP Tour match together in 2026.

That came at the Monte Carlo Masters, which saw Sinner defeat Alcaraz in straight sets to win the Masters event for the first time in his career.

That victory helped Sinner close the gap on Alcaraz as he picked up his seventh victory in 17 matches against the Spaniard. Sinner has won his last two matches against Alcaraz, in Monte Carlo and the ATP Finals.

Alcaraz’s last victory over Sinner came in the 2025 US Open final, which the Spaniard won in four sets to win the sixth Grand Slam title of his career.

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Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to lift the Roland Garros title, following his dominant streak on the European clay court swing.

The Italian has won the Monte Carlo Masters, the Madrid Open, and the Italian Open back-to-back and many believe him winning Roland Garros this year is a formality.

Sinner will begin his campaign at the French Open against home favourite Clement Tabur, which will be a first time ever match up at the Grand Slam.

The World No. 1 is set to play his first match on Tuesday, 25th May, and he has been given a favourable schedule by the French Grand Slam.

Sinner is set to play the last match on Philippe-Chatrier, with play not set to start until 20:15 at the earliest. With temperatures set to hit 33 degrees in Paris during the day, the Italian will be delighted to have received that spot.

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The Italian has often struggled in intense heats and it has proved to be the World No. 1’s only real weakness in recent years. The star nearly dropped out of the Australian Open agianst Eliot Spizzirri earlier this year in similar temperatures.

Sinner was playing in the day session against Spizzirri and he could not handle the heat at all. Were it not for the heat rule coming into play in Melbourne, he would have likely exited the Grand Slam early.

The same happened at the Shanghai Masters last year, when he was forced to retire in his third round match against Tallon Griekspoor.

Sinner playing at Roland Garros as the sun goes down will give him an extra boost as he prepares to take on a home favourite at the Paris Grand Slam.

The French star is currently ranked World No. 184 in the rankings, but he has received a wild card for his home event. Sinner will be a formidable opponent for Tabur, but a rallying French crowd will surely get behind the Frenchman.

Sinner has been given a favourable draw at Roland Garros, with the Italian’s only real threat before the quarter-final stages coming from Luciano Darderi, who he could play in the fourth round.

Jannik Sinner’s projected route through the French Open

• First round: Clement Tabur
• Second round: Juan Manuel Cerundolo
• Third round: Martin Landaluce
• Fourth round: Arthur Rinderknech
• Quarter-finals: Ben Shelton
• Semi-finals: Daniil Medvedev
• Finals: Novak Djokovic

The World No. 1 has also been placed in the same section of the draw as Arthur Rinderknech, Matteo Berrettini, Corentin Moutet, and Martin Landaluce.

He will not have to play a top 10 player until the quarter-finals at the earliest, with a potential last eight meeting with Ben Shelton on the cards.

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Iga Swiatek kicked off her 2026 French Open campaign with an emphatic win over Emerson Jones, resulting in former world No 1 Mats Wilander declaring that she “looks impossible” to beat on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The four-time Roland Garros champion made a sluggish start to the clay-court swing as she lost her second match at the Stuttgart Open and then retired due to illness from her round of 32 match against Ann Li at the Madrid Open.

But she found some form at the Italian Open as she reached her first semi-final of the year before losing in three sets against Elina Svitolina, but there were certainly signs that the “old” Swiatek was back during her run in Rome.

And she looked in good nick again during her opening match against Emerson in Paris, beating the wildcard 6-1, 6-2 in exactly an hour.

During her on-court interview, Swiatek stated: “I’m just really happy to play on this court. First matches are always also for getting used to the conditions and everything. I’m really happy with the way I played today, tactically, and I felt the ball good. So it was a good first match for sure.”

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TNT Sports expert Mats Wilander was quick to declare that Swiatek has found her best form again and believes she made a tweak to her game.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner, who won three titles at Roland Garros, said: “She’s playing better. She’s playing a little bit further behind the baseline. When you watch her play on this court, the ball is bouncing so high.

“It looks impossible to beat Iga Swiatek on this court. I know it is possible, but I like she’s not being so aggressive. She was being super, super aggressive the last few years, and it hasn’t really worked. Right now, she’s back.”

Wilander’s colleague, former world No 5 Henri Leconte – who finished runner-up to Wilander in the 1988 French Open final, believes the work with Francisco Roig – who replaced Wim Fissette as Swiatek’s coach after the Miami Open in March – is evident.

“She’s back where she wants, the French Open, stay on the baseline and go for the shots,” the Frenchman said.

“Moving better. I think the work she did with Roig, that helps a lot. When she’s playing like that, she can be dangerous. You can think about her [as a title contender].”

But while many believe her previous experience puts her in good stead at this year’s French Open, Swiatek is not getting carried away after her first-round win.

“Nothing comes easy. Honestly I feel like with more titles it’s even a bit harder because everyone expects you to be ready always and play perfectly,” she said.

“You need to stay humble and not take anything for granted and work your way from the beginning of the tournament to play good.

“Especially after Rome where it was pretty cold and much more heavy, the court seems totally different here. You need to adjust for sure.”

*Mats Wilander and Herni Leconte will feature as part of TNT Sports’ Roland-Garros coverage*

*Every match of Roland-Garros is live across TNT Sports and HBO Max*.

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Novak Djokovic has sent a warm message to his rival Carlos Alcaraz, who is currently sidelined from the tour due to a wrist injury.

Alcaraz has not played since 14 April, when he sustained a right wrist injury in his opening round win at the Barcelona Open. The injury is reportedly an inflamed tendon sheath in Alcaraz’s wrist.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner pulled out before his second round match in Barcelona and said the injury was “more serious than we all expected.”

The world No 2 has since withdrew from the Masters events in Madrid and Rome, as well as the French Open and Wimbledon.

Alcaraz‘s absence arguably improves Djokovic‘s chances of winning a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title.

Speaking to Europsort ahead of the French Open, Djokovic spoke about his hopes of achieving this at Roland Garros.

“Yeah, it would mean a lot, of course. I mean, that’s the goal, that’s the aim. We’re working towards that, and let’s see what happens.

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“Yeah, to win 25 here would mean, of course, everything to me, and that’s the reason why I’m here, I’m competing. That’s the goal, and we’ll see what happens.”

The 39-year-old tennis legend then added: “Carlos, I hope you recover well. Tennis misses you. See you soon, amigo.”

In his pre-tournament press conference in Paris, Djokovic was asked how Alcaraz’s withdrawal impacts him.

“He’s a two-time defending champion of Roland Garros; of course, it’s a big blow for the tournament not to have him,” said the Serbian.

“Whether that changes my approach? I don’t think it does, significantly. I’ve been through challenging times with my body in the past six to eight months, so that was my primary focus, not really thinking about whether or not I have a better chance with Carlos [playing].

“If I’m healthy and able to maintain that level of freshness throughout the tournament, then I feel like I always have a very good chance. I’ve proven that.”

Djokovic defeated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in four sets in his opening round match at Roland Garros on Sunday night.

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French player Arthur Gea was embroiled in a contentious incident on the opening day of the French Open, as he ran off court for around four minutes following a heated exchange with the umpire.

In roasting hot conditions in Paris, Gea was embroiled in a tense match against Karen Khachanov when he insisted he needed to leave the court to go to the toilet.

The umpire did not feel he was asking to take a break at an appropriate moment and encouraged him to play on, with his response leaving little to the imagination.

“I really can’t,” said an irate Gea. “I need to s***. I feel it’s going to go out. It’s not a joke.”

He went on to add: “I can’t, I can’t. Just explain the situation. I’m going to s*** on the f****** court, I’m sick. I have diarrhoea.”

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Khachanov didn’t look impressed by the timing of the break, but he went on to win the match 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-0, with Gea’s energy levels dropping dramatically in the final set.

There is an etiquette in tennis that toilet breaks need to be taken at a moment that does not disadvantage your opponent, but this appeared to be more of a medial issue than a tactical move from Gea.

“It’s not ideal from the Frenchman’s point of view, but Khachanov has to serve that next game, so I’m sure he was very frustrated he had the delay,” Henman told TNT Sports.

“Perhaps he didn’t deal with it brilliantly, because he lost the next three points to go down 0-40. But then really dug in.

“If your opponent is suffering with any kind of physical issue, you want to make them work, make them move. You don’t want to make unforced errors. He did manage to turn it around.”

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The final result ensured the incident that took place in the first set of the match was forgotten long before the end, with wildcard Gea clearly not fit enough to compete with a player who was ranked a lot higher than him.

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Alex Eala celebrated her birthday with some of her closest friends on the WTA Tour and the group included her first-round opponent at this year’s French Open.

The Filipina turned 21 on Saturday, 23 May and she shared a post on Instagram of some of her big moments as she spent time with her parents, Mike Eala and Rizza Maniego-Eala, as well as fellow tennis stars Eva Lys, Iva Jovic and Zeynep Sonmez.

Eala accompanied the post with the caption “21 can you do sum for meeeeeeeeeeee” and one of the slides was a video of a night out with her tennis buddies Lys, Jovic and Sonmez with all three commenting on the post.

During her pre-French Open press conference, the rising star was asked about the importance of friendships in tennis.

“These friendships I have within the tour are very important to me. I don’t know how I would survive the tour without them. They are not just tennis friends; they are friends for truly life. We share many things together all along the year,” she revealed.

“When we have to play against each other, we know just to separate the professional from the friendship. There is no need to change anything in the relationship.”

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And as fate would have it, Eala and Jovic will turn rivals on Tuesday as they will be on the opposite sides of the net in the opening round of this year’s French Open in what will be their first-ever WTA meeting.

Jovic will be the favourite heading into the match as she is currently 17th in the WTA Rankings while Eala sits at No 37.

The two, of course, have been on the same side of the net in the past as they teamed up in the doubles at the Indian Wells Open in March and January’s ASB Classic in Auckland.

In fact, Eala regularly plays doubles with her friends as she partnered with Sonmez at the Madrid Open and with Lys at Wimbledon last year.

The 21-year-old will make her second appearance in the main draw at Roland Garros after losing in the first round 12 months ago.

“I feel much more prepared than last year to compete on clay,” she revealed. “I believe I have improved a lot on this surface over the past twelve months. I still have a lot of room for improvement, but I feel like I have evolved a bit as a player.

“All the preparation is geared towards arriving well at the Grand Slams, honest and honestly, right now I feel good, very, very happy, and very excited. I don’t feel like I have anything to lose this week, and that allows me to play with more freedom.”

One friend was missing from Saturday’s birthday celebrations and that was Victoria Mboko as the Canadian was in action at the Strasbourg final.

But Eala and Mboko will spend some time together at Roland Garros as they have signed up for the women’s doubles with their first-round match also set for Tuesday against Leylah Fernandez and Diana Shnaider.

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Jannik Sinner has claimed he is one of the only players who can stop Jannik Sinner at this year’s French Open, but former British No 1 Johanna Konta has suggested a victory for the German at Roland Garros may not be popular.

With Carlos Alcaraz out due to injury, Zverev is the No 2 seed and appears to be the leading contender to challenge Sinner for the title in Paris.

The German’s recent record against Sinner suggests he is several steps behind the Italian, with the comprehensive nature of his recent defeats against the world No 1 doing little to fuel belief that he can challenge the favourite to win the men’s title.

“Well, I think there’s a big gap between [Jannik] Sinner and everybody else right now,” said the German.

“It’s quite simple. I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else.

“And I think there’s a big gap between [Carlos] Alcaraz, myself, maybe Novak [Djokovic], and everybody else. I think there are two gaps right now.”

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Now Konta has told TNT Sports that his comments have caused a stir because she believes Zverev is unpopular with tennis fans.

“I think he’s the player right now that everyone loves to hate,” declared Konta on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Former world No 2 Alex Corretja then offered his verdict, as he suggested Zverev was right to claim he was the second favourite to win the title alongside Djokovic.

“There’s a gap between him and everyone else,” said Corretja.

“I think the gap between Jannik and when Carlos was there, of course, and then it’s Novak and Sascha. They’ve been showing that they were ready to do well in the Slams.

“Sascha needs to believe he can do well in the tournament. He can’t be passive because then he can be tired when he gets into the second week.”

Even though Alcaraz’s absence is a boost for Zverev’s hopes, he has insisted he insisted he is not happy to see the Spaniard on the sidelines.

“It’s sad. Sad for tennis. But as he said himself, he’s very young and his career will be very long, and I think that’s what he’s prioritising. It’s never good for him to miss the big tournaments; we need him and tennis is more exciting with him.

“Sometimes people say the best players are happy while others aren’t, but that’s not the case. I’ve been in that situation, injured, unable to compete in the big tournaments, and it’s not a pleasant feeling.

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“I wish him a very speedy recovery. I hope he returns sooner than expected, I hope to see him at 100% on the grass circuit.

“For me, to win a Major, you have to beat the best players in the world. In recent months, Sinner has been the best player in the world and he’s still here, he’s the big favorite.

“But I don’t want the others not to be there. I’ll compete the same way, I’ll try to win, but it’s better when everyone’s present.”

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Marta Kostyuk came through “one of the most difficult matches” of her career in the first round of the French Open, but it was events back home in Ukraine that were playing heavily on her mind.

Playing in her first match since she won back-to-back titles at the WTA 250 Open de Rouen and WTA 1000 Madrid Open, Kostyuk kicked off her campaign at Roland Garros against Oksana Selekhmeteva on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

But she admitted it was a difficult morning filled with tears due to Russia’s ongoing airstrikes on her home country with her parents’ house not far from the latest missile strikes.

The 23-year-old managed to keep her emotions in check and produced an excellent display to defeat Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3 to take her unbeaten run to 12 matches.

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During her post-match on-court interview, the 15th seed was nearly overcome by emotion, revealing: “I’m incredibly proud of myself today. I think it was one of the most difficult matches of my career.

“This morning, 100 metres from my parents’ house, the missile destroyed the building. It was a very difficult morning. I didn’t know how this match is gonna turn out for me. I didn’t know how I would handle it.

“I’ve been crying part of the morning. I don’t wanna talk about myself today. I’m very pleased to be in the second round, but all of my thoughts and all my heart goes to the people of Ukraine today. Thank you so much for coming out. Slava Ukraine.”

Kostyuk was among the first winners at the 2026 clay-court Grand Slam and her second-round opponent is yet to be confirmed with Katie Volynets and Clara Burel still to take to court in Paris.

But with the win in the bag, it was time to celebrate the people of Ukraine.

Kostyuk added: “Because I think it’s important to keep going. My biggest example is the Ukrainian people. I woke up in the morning today and I looked at all these people who woke up and kept living their live, kept helping people who are in need.

“I knew a lot of Ukrainian flags would be here today and a lot of Ukrainian people would come out and support. My friends from Ukraine came as well. Very happy to have them here. Not much I can say.”

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Emma Raducanu’s decision to reunite with coach Andrew Richardson has been one of the big talking points ahead of the French Open and now Tim Henman believes she has made a decision that could give her the consistency she needs.

Raducanu has been through a succession of coaching changes since Richardson guided her to US Open glory in 2021, with the Brit admitting she reflects on the period after her win in New York with some regrets.

“Everything in my life changed upside down,” said Raducanu.

“I didn’t really think I had a handle over the situation in the sense that I was being pulled left and right. I didn’t really know what was going on.

“A lot of experiences over the last few years have taught me about what I didn’t want. It taught me that I really value having people I trust and connect with around me. It’s really nice to have that feeling back.”

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One intriguing comment emerging from Raducanu’s press conference in Paris was the revelation that she has committed to working with Richardson for the rest of 2026.

Leading coaches may have been wary of agreeing to work with Raducanu, given her rapidly changing coaching position, with former British No 1 Henman admitting he was surprised to see her commit to a coach for an extended period.

“One comment that she did make, which I really liked, she said, we’ve committed through the rest of the year,” Henman told TNT Sports, as he reflected on the return of the man who was best man at his wedding to the Raducanu coaching box.

“I think that that’s pretty unusual for Raducanu when you reflect on how many coaches she’s been through, so if she’s gonna stick with Andrew and try to build some consistency and continuity, then I think that can only be a good thing.

“You’ve really got to build that foundation. She hasn’t played for 10 weeks, and she’s on clay, which is probably her least favourite surface. 
So I think, you know, these early weeks are just about getting out on the court and putting in the hours.

“She’s got an opportunity here at Roland Garros, but my expectations are pretty low for her because she just hasn’t played.

“On the grass, it’s a different kettle of fish. She is so much more comfortable, she’ll get more help with the surface.

“I think she enjoys the atmosphere of playing at home. I don’t think the spotlight really bothers her, so we’ve got to take a slightly longer-term view on when the results could come. If it does happen quickly, then I think that’s a bonus.”

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Raducanu has entered the WTA 500 tournament at the Queen’s Club next month and she may also look to play another grass court event before she takes to the courts at Wimbledon at the end of next month.

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Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard is feeling ‘positive’ about his chances of springing an immediate upset against Novak Djokovic at the French Open, according to his coach Greg Rusedski.

Djokovic is set to open his Paris campaign against the big-serving Frenchman on Sunday night, with the pair having never previously met on tour.

The Serb is a three-time French Open champion, having lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2016, 2021 and 2023.

However, he has had a relatively light 2026 season after reaching the Australian Open final, followed by just two weeks of competitive action across the next four months.

Indeed, Djokovic is without a win since the Indian Wells Masters and will be looking to bounce back after an opening-match defeat to Croatian Dino Prizmic at the Italian Open.

Meanwhile, Mpetshi-Perricard has also endured a mixed season and arrives off the back of a tight 6-4, 7-6(8) defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the ATP 250 event in Geneva.

Despite the lack of results, Rusedski believes his player is showing a strong level in practice and is confident he can trouble Djokovic on the big stage.

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“Yeah, I think so, I think he’s going to be on Sunday night,” said Rusedski on the Off-Court with Greg podcast.

“I have a feeling Novak might have requested a Sunday start, that’s possible, but you know the guy has won the tournament so many times, a legend of our sport, so you earn your stripes as I say.

“He can ask for whatever he wants, he doesn’t always get his request, but it looks like we are starting Sunday evening.

“I don’t really care when we play, if Gio plays to his best, it doesn’t matter who he plays. Practice session today was brilliant with Medvedev, the best I’ve seen him play in the time we have been together so that’s a huge positive. But what a blockbuster for an opening!

“It’s a little bit of a rough section too, you’ve got [Joao] Fonseca, [Dino] Prizmic, [Alex] De Minaur, [Jakub] Mensik in that little quarter, so I can’t wait to start up Sunday and Gio’s in great spirits.

“We had a good team dinner last night and everybody’s feeling positive about what’s coming up on Sunday.”

Djokovic has never lost in the first round of the French Open in more than 20 years and has been one of the most consistent performers in Paris across his career.

He has reached at least the quarter-finals in every edition since 2009, including a semi-final run 12 months ago, before falling to Jannik Sinner in straight sets.

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