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Novak Djokovic has been providing tips to a rising star of the WTA Tour as 18-year-old Iva Jovic revealed she is in frequent discussion with the 24-time Slam winner.

Given he is the most successful male player of all-time and still competing, not to mention a father of two, it is fair to assume that Djokovic may not have time to watch tennis matches aside from his future opponent’s but that has been revealed to not be the case by rising American player Jovic who has been getting some tips from the Serbian.

Speaking at the WTA 500 event in Charleston, Jovic revealed the “surreal” feeling of having had Djokovic watch some of her matches.

“He’s given me some great tips. I can tell that he has watched my matches, which is surreal,” Jovic told the Tennis Channel. “I’m like, ‘How do you even have time for that? How am I on your priority list?’ But it’s incredible.

“He gives me some very specific takes about some tactics I can play, some different versatility I can add into my game, so I’ve been trying to do it. Me and my coach have a joke, where he says, ‘If you don’t want to listen to me, listen to Novak at least!’, because they’re saying the same thing but it’s a little different when it comes from Novak.”

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As for why Djokovic may have taken an interest in Jovic, they have a shared nationality for although the latter represents America, she has a Serbian father.

She is not the only one to have received some Djokovic tips though and suggested the 38-year-old “really makes time for young players.”

“I don’t know how he does it,” said Jovic. “He’s a husband, he’s a father, he’s the greatest tennis player of all time. He knows, what, seven languages? I don’t know. Everyone needs a time-management plan from Novak, because I don’t know how he does it. But he really makes time for young players and wants to help them, which is great.

“I have a direct line [to him]. I try not to bother him too much, but I text him throughout tournaments especially, when we are at the same place,” said Jovic. “Every time I see him, we have a good chat, so I’m hoping he stays around the Tour longer!”

Read next: Iga Swiatek’s 11-word message as she announces ‘new chapter’ with new coach

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Iga Swiatek has changed her coach for just the fourth time in her career but a decision like that has proved to be very effective in the past.

The 24-year-old confirmed on Thursday that Francos Roig would be joining her coaching team, bringing with him the experience of coaching Rafa Nadal, but there is pressure on the latter given just how well her previous coaches have done.

Since turning pro in 2016, Swiatek has had just three permanent coaches and all of them have helped changed or develop her game.

The first was Piotr Sierzputowski who oversaw Swiatek’s transition into a pro player. Swiatek clinched her first slam, the 2020 French Open under Sierzputowski as she defeated Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 in the Paris final.

After a five years together, Swiatek announced in December 2021 she was parting ways with her long-time coach.

Tomasz Wiktorowski was appointed, who has been Swiatek’s most successful coach to date. Under the Pole, Swiatek won the French Open on three occasions as well as the 2022 US Open.

In October 2024, they then parted ways before Belgian coach Wim Fiesste was appointed late that month. That marked another turning point in Swiatek’s career as she clinched the Wimbledon title for the first time in 2025.

That relationship came to an end after Swiatek suffered a second round defeat in Miami which opened the vacancy for Roig to come in.

While Roig is no stranger to Grand Slams, the history of Swiatek and her coaches represents a very high bar in terms of what is to be expected. That shock defeat in Miami has also seen Swiatek drop to her lowest ranking since June 2025.

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as for why she made the change Swiatek said she does not usually like to make coaching alterations after a tournament exit but expressed a desire to feel good on the court again, an element she found had gone missing of late.

“I wouldn’t make such a decision hastily. Sometimes you can see me as an emotional person, but I really don’t make decisions impulsively. I’m quite rational. I like to give myself time to make a decision.

“Besides, I don’t make many changes to the team. I think it’s a very good approach. I like to give the team the opportunity to ‘reset’ ourselves and start working a little differently.

“However, in this case, I felt that it was simply time for a change. Yes, it was not a decision made in Miami – it was a longer process in which I thought everything through carefully.

“During the tournament in Doha, I realized that I don’t feel as good on the court as before,” she continued.

“Of course, at different tournaments there may be different reasons for a worse disposition – sometimes I just know that I was not focused that day, sometimes the forehand failed me, sometimes something else.”

The post Why Francisco Roig has big shoes to fill as Iga Swiatek’s new coach appeared first on Tennis365.

The father of Jannik Sinner’s new doubles partner Zizou Bergs has given a “wait and see” verdict on whether the Italian will also feature in the singles’ draw.

Having become just the 13th player to win the Sunshine Double in the same year, the ATP 1000 tournament in Monaco is next on Sinner’s calendar but there are suggestions he may skip the tournament having competed in the Miami final on March 29.

The current No 2 suggested he would think over his entry, which is also a switch to clay, but he will at least be in Monte Carlo having been on the entry list for the doubles tournament with Zizou Bergs.

Bergs’ father Koen suggested Sinner’s place in the doubles tournament was not a confirmation he would also play singles.

“We know that Jannik will decide whether to actually play doubles or not,” he told Ubitennis. “He’s just won the Sunshine Double, so it’s possible he wants to rest a bit.

“On the other hand, he could gain a lot of points since he didn’t take part last year. We’ll wait and see—there’s still time to understand what he’ll decide.”

Sinner himself said the most important factor was recovery, although the 1000 points on offer could tempt him.

“For me, now the most important is to recover, enjoy this moment, and I don’t have a lot of time to adjust, playing on clay, if I want to play Monaco,” he said after the Miami final.

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“So let’s see. You know, for me, I just try to enjoy also these moments and not thinking too much. You know, I have always been someone who thinks in a very present moment. I don’t look in front, but I also don’t look backwards.

“Whatever comes, comes. I’m very happy about these couple of tournaments, and now a new chapter starts with the clay again. Let’s see how it goes.”

As for how the matchup came about, Bergs revealed it was Sinner who reached out to his son and states that “Zizou would never have dared to ask

“Zizou and Jannik first played each other at the Paris Masters 1000 last year. This year they trained together in Indian Wells and afterwards Jannik asked him to play doubles together in Monte Carlo.

“Zizou would never have dared to ask Sinner, so he was quite surprised. I think Jannik likes Zizou’s attitude and personality.”

Sinner won the aforementioned match in Paris, beating Bergs 6-4, 6-2 in what is their only meeting so far.

Read next: Iga Swiatek: Wimbledon champion set to work with Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu’s former coach

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Iga Swiatek has a new coach as former Rafael Nadal mentor Francisco Roig joins her team with the Spaniard coming with plenty of experience.

The current world No 4 has hired the man behind much of Nadal’s incredible success and took to Instagram to welcome the 58-year-old to her team.

Here’s everything you need to know about Swiatek’s new coach.

What was Roig’s playing career like?

As is often the case with top-level coaches, Roig enjoyed a playing career of his own before taking to the sidelines.

Born in 1968, he turned pro in 1987 and reached a career-high of world No 60 on the ATP Singles Tour in 1992. In the Slams, his best effort was the third round of the French Open he reached in 1989.

Roig though had more success on the doubles circuit, winning nine career titles and reaching the quarter finals of the 1997 French Open.

In 2001, he retired from the game and quickly turned his hand to coaching.

What was Roig’s coaching career like?

In 2005, Roig joined Rafael Nadal’s entourage just as the future great was beginning to make a mark on the sport.

That was also the year in which Nadal won the first of his 14 French Open titles and Roig was present for all 22 Slams won by Nadal.

He began as Toni Nadal’s assistant coach, and later worked alongside both Carlos Moya and Marc Lopez after ‘Uncle Toni’ stepped back in 2017.

The pair even played doubles together at points, partnering up at the 2009 Canadian Open and the 2014 Qatar Open.

Roig officially parted ways with Nadal at the end of 2022, following a season that saw the Spaniard claim his last two major titles at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

After leaving Nadal’s team, Roig initially started working with former US Open champion Sloane Stephens, though their partnership was ultimately short-lived.

He then spent just under a year working with former top-10 star and 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, starting in December 2023.

Despite the Italian’s injury issues, the partnership proved to be a successful one, with Berrettini winning titles in Marrakech, Gstaad, and Kitzbuhel under Roig’s guidance.

However, the two parted ways in October 2024, with Roig not taking up any further coaching roles until this new partnership with Emma Raducanu in August 2025. Although that partnership came to an abrupt end in January 2026 after the Briton exited the Australian Open in the second round.

What can he bring to Swiatek?

Being part of the coaching team for one of the best players of all time is quite the thing to have on your CV but specifically, Roig has been perceived to be one of the best observers in the sport.

Speaking to Christopher Clarey for his book The Warrior, Feliciano Lopez – a confidante of both Roig and Nadal – credited Roig’s key insights for revitalising Nadal’s game.

“Technically, I think he’s the best coach in the world,” Lopez said. “He doesn’t use that much video analysis, but he sees things that the rest of the coaches don’t see.

“He’s able to see things in Rafa’s forehand or movement that no other guys would notice, and it allowed them to be very specific and precise.”

The post Who is Francisco Roig? Everything you need to know about Iga Swiatek’s new coach appeared first on Tennis365.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek has announced that Francisco Roig has joined her coaching team ahead of the clay-court season.

The former world No 1 parted ways with Wim Fissette – with whom she started working in October 2024 – after a disappointing Sunshine Double as she lost in the quarter-final of the Indian Wells Open and the second round of the Miami Open.

Swiatek started the hard-court swing at No 2 in the WTA Rankings behind Aryna Sabalenka, but she has slipped to No 4 with Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff moving ahead and she decided it was time for a change after the Florida event.

Roig – who worked with 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal for more than two decades and recently coached Emma Raducanu – was top of the list of potential coaches named by Polish media and the rumour mill went into overdrive when it was announced that Swiatek would train at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca ahead of the clay-court swing.

Earlier this week, the six-time major champion gave a lengthy interview to Sport.pl and confirmed that she asked Nadal for advice about her next coach, but refused to give anything away.

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“He’s someone I can turn to if I need help or have a problem to solve,” she said of tennis great Nadal. “Help from someone so experienced – in fact, the best, the GOAT – is obviously a wonderful opportunity and I’ll take advantage of it whenever I can. Rafa is very open. He’s a great guy.

“The very fact that I have his number and can get in touch with him is a great honour for me. But to be honest, whether he helped me [in choosing a coach – rl] or not, I’d like to keep that between us, because he’s part of this story. I wouldn’t want to put him in an awkward position.”

However, the announcement was made on Thursday morning with the 24-year-old sharing an image of Roig on her Instagram Story, accompanied with the caption: “Welcome to the team, Francisco! Very excited for this new chapter.”

Roig will be the Pole’s fourth full-time coach since she turned professional in 2016 as Piotr Sierzputowski coached her from 2016 until 2021. He was replaced by Tomasz Wiktorowsk who left in 2024 before Fissette took over.

Swiatek and Roig will now have a week to adapt before their first tournament at the Stuttgart Open from 13-19 April.

The post Iga Swiatek’s 11-word message as she announces ‘new chapter’ with new coach appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach has revealed that the Spaniard intends to play a full clay-court season and will not be distracted by the No 1 ranking ‘drama’.

The world No 2 will arrive at the clay-court season on the back of a shock to Sebastian Korda in the third round of the Miami Open.

Alcaraz is next scheduled to compete at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which takes place from April 5 – 12.

At last year’s edition, he defeated Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the final to win his maiden title in Monaco.

Just a few days later, he was in action at the Barcelona Open as the two-time defending champion – falling to Holger Rune 7-6(6), 6-1 in the final.

The heavy schedule contributed towards an abductor injury during the showpiece match, forcing him to withdraw from the Madrid Masters.

After a period of rest and recovery, he returned to win titles at the Italian Open and the French Open.

This year, Samuel Lopez – Alcaraz’s main coach – has made clear that the world No 1 intends to play all five tournaments, if he remains healthy.

“Let’s see, in principle we’re going with the idea of playing everything, of playing the whole swing, you know,” revealed Lopez during an interview with Eurosport ES.

“Monte Carlo – if things had gone well, if things had gone better in Miami – we would probably have skipped it.

“But in this case, well, Monte Carlo is going to be more of a preparation tournament.

“The thing is, you already know that sometimes those preparation tournaments… you get up to speed very quickly. But for us, Monte Carlo is more like last year.

“What happens is that last year things worked out and in the end it was won, but in the end going to the first clay tournament and winning it, well, for almost everyone it’s the first clay tournament, so almost everyone is in the same conditions.

“The idea is to try to manage it and arrive as well as possible at Roland Garros, at 100%. We’ll see what happens along the way.”

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Whilst Alcaraz enjoyed a healthy lead at the top of the rankings after his victory at the Rotterdam Open, his lead has been severely slimmed down to 1190 by Sinner’s victories at the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open.

However, the clay-court swing presents a far tougher points defence for Alcaraz, who has 4,330 points to protect compared to Sinner’s 1,950.

The Italian would be able to leapfrog his rival on April 13 if he is victorious at the Monte-Carlo Masters – regardless of Alcaraz’s Monaco performance.

2025 provided for a photo finish in the race for the year-end No 1 status, with just 550 points between the pair after the conclusion of the Nitto ATP Finals.

Despite the exciting storyline, Lopez insists that his pupil will not be distracted by the ‘drama’, instead focusing on his self-improvement.

“Yes, it’s something we have to talk about again,” admitted the coach.

“It’s something that is talked about, but yes. I think he understands that it can happen, and that it’s not a drama.

“It’s already happened to him before. In the end, being No 1, No 4, what matters is that you see that you’re evolving, that you’re ready for the big moments and able to keep adding titles.

“No. 1 is a consequence of consistency over the whole year. This is a long-distance race. We’ll see, at different moments one defends points, then another does.

“In the end, whoever finishes as No 1 will deserve it. There’s no need to give it more importance than it has.”

The post Carlos Alcaraz set for full clay-court swing as coach plays down Jannik Sinner No 1 threat appeared first on Tennis365.

Iga Swiatek has admitted that her decision to part ways with Wim Fissette was made long before the news was made public, as she also hinted that she spoke to Rafael Nadal about her next coach, but is determined not to give too much away.

The six-time Grand Slam winner split from Fissette following her shock second-round defeat to fellow Pole Magda Linette at the Miami Open just over a fortnight ago.

Swiatek’s early exit from the WTA 1000 tournament in Florida came on the back of quarter-final losses against Elina Svitolina at the Indian Wells Open and Maria Sakkari at the Qatar Open.

And it was that defeat to Sakkari that set the wheels in motion for her decision to end her working relationship with Fissette, who joined her setup in October 2024.

In an extensive interview with Sport.pl, Swiatek was asked about ending the relationship with the Belgian and replied: “This is between us. I don’t want to go into details. It’s definitely not something someone like me decides to do after one failure. I wouldn’t make such a decision lightly.

“Sometimes you can see me as an emotional person, but I really don’t make decisions impulsively. I’m quite rational. I like to give myself time to make decisions. Besides, I don’t make many changes within the team. I think that’s a very good approach. I like to give the team the opportunity to ‘reset’ and start working a little differently.

“However, in this case, I felt it was simply time for a change. Yes, it wasn’t a decision made in Miami — it was a longer process during which I carefully considered everything.

“During the tournament in Doha, I realised I wasn’t feeling as good on court as I had before. Of course, different tournaments can have different reasons for a poor performance—sometimes I just know I wasn’t focused that day, sometimes my forehand was failing, sometimes something else. It happens. But I felt like I wasn’t playing as well, and that’s why I started losing confidence.

“After my loss to Maria Sakkari, we sat down and had a long talk. We discussed what to change and how to approach the following week so I could get back to my solid game. And indeed, we made some progress before Indian Wells. But when I considered the whole picture, I decided I needed a change.

“Honestly, I learned a lot about myself during this process. There were different moments, different approaches and retreats – this stage lasted several weeks.”

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Of course, the focus is now on her next coach and the upcoming clay-court season.

Several names have been mentioned, including tennis great Nadal’s former coach Francisco Roig and Poland’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Dawid Celt.

Swiatek will next be in action at the Stuttgart Open and she will prepare for the tournament by training at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, leading to speculation that Nadal has played a big role in the search for her next coach.

When the former world No 1 was asked “Is it true that Rafael Nadal helped you find a coach? And is it true that he’ll be at your box in Stuttgart and at other clay tournaments?” she said: “Of course – Rafa is my idol and actually the only person I watched playing tennis as a child.

“He was also kind enough to speak to me a few times whilst he was still playing and give me some advice. He’s someone I can turn to if I need help or have a problem to solve.

“Help from someone so experienced – in fact, the best, the GOAT – is obviously a wonderful opportunity and I’ll take advantage of it whenever I can. Rafa is very open. He’s a great guy.

“The very fact that I have his number and can get in touch with him is a great honour for me. But to be honest, whether he helped me [in choosing a coach – rl] or not, I’d like to keep that between us, because he’s part of this story. I wouldn’t want to put him in an awkward position.”

The post Iga Swiatek reveals when she decided to end Wim Fissette partnership and makes Rafael Nadal confession appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu’s comeback to WTA Tour action has been delayed as she has withdrawn from her next event, the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.

The 2021 US Open winner has struggled with a viral illness since February’s Transylvania Open and the Linz event will be the second consecutive tournament that she will miss as she also withdrew from the Miami Open.

After reaching her second top-level final in Romania, Raducanu first started showing signs of illness during her encounter against Sorana Cirstea as she noted after the match she had “just been kind of dealing with some health [issues] just not feeling great”.

She returned to action a few days later at the Qatar Open, but then retired early in the third set of her first-round match against Camila Osorio before losing her opening match against Antonia Ruzic at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Following a two-week break, she was back i action at the Indian Wells Open at the start of March and won her clash against Anastasia Zakharova before losing 6-1, 6-1 against Amanda Anisimova in the round of 32 before withdrawing from the Miami Open.

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She was on the entry list for next week’s Austrian event, where she was due to be seeded, but her team have confirmed that she won’t play as she is not yet 100 per cent healthy.

According to BBC Sport, the world No 28 “wants to focus on making a full recovery before returning to competitive action on the clay”.

Raducanu’s Next Event?

The Stuttgart Open and Open de Rouen are the two clay-court events scheduled for the second week of April, but Raducanu is not on the entry list of either event.

Of course, she could still accept a wildcard entry for the French tournament, but she will most likely only return to action at the Madrid Open, which gets underway on April 27.

As things stand, Raducanu is likely to be one of the top 32 seeds with her ranking No 28, but the fact that she is unlikely to feature at any tournaments before the Spanish WTA 1000 event means she will likely drop a few places in the rankings and could miss out.

If she also opts to skip the Madrid Open, then the Italian Open is the next WTA Tour event on the calendar and she will have a direct entry thanks to her ranking.

There is, of course, also the possibility that Raducanu could decide to give the whole clay-court swing a miss and only make a top-level comeback on grass.

The post Emma Raducanu withdraws from another tournament. When is her next WTA event? appeared first on Tennis365.

The 2026 ATP Masters 1000 clay-court swing gets underway with the Monte Carlo Masters, where defending champion Carlos Alcaraz headlines a field featuring seven top-10 players.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner defended an injury-hit Lorenzo Musetti in three sets in the 2025 final to win his first title at the Monte Carlo Country Club and he will once again be the man to beat along with world No 2 Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz is one of four Monte Carlo Masters champions in the main draw with three-time winner Stefanos Tsitsipas (2024, 2022, 2021), Andrey Rublev (2023) and Stan Wawrinka (2014) also taking part in the 2026 edition.

But there will be no Novak Djokovic as he is one of several players who have withdrawn from the tournament.

How many players will feature at the Monte Carlo Masters

Unlike the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open where 96 players make up the main draw, the Monte Carlo Masters is a 56-player main draw competition and it takes place over one week.

The top-16 players in the ATP Rankings at the cutoff date of 30 March are seeded for the event with the top eight receiving byes into the second round.

As mentioned, Alcaraz and Sinner lead the way and they are followed by Alexander Zverev, Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik.

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Four players have received wildcards and they are former champion Wawrinka, who will be playing in Monte Carlo for the last time along with fellow retiree Gael Monfils with the Frenchman also receiving a wildcard.

Rising French teenager Moise Kouame, who made history at the Miami Oepn as he was the youngest player to win a main draw match at the tournament as he was just 17 years and 13 days old when he beat Zachary Svajda in the first round.

Italian Matteo Berrettini is the final wildcard entry while Hubert Hurkacz has used his protected ranking to enter the main draw.

Seven players will enter the draw via the qualifying tournament.

What are the key dates and when will the draw take place?

The Monte Carlo Masters first-round matches get underway on 5 April and the tournament comes to a conclusion on Sunday 12 April with the doubles and singles finals.

The draw is set to take place on Friday, 4 April at 17:00 local time.

2026 Monte Carlo Masters Entry List

Seeds
1. Carlos Alcaraz
2. Jannik Sinner
3. Alexander Zverev
4. Lorenzo Musetti
5. Alex de Minaur
6. Felix Auger-Aliassime
7. Daniil Medvedev
8. Alexander Bublik
9. Casper Ruud
10. Flavio Cobolli
11. Jiri Lehecka
12. Karen Khachanov
13. Andrey Rublev
14. Frances Tiafoe
15. Luciano Darderi
16. Francisco Cerúndolo

Other entries
Tommy Paul
Learner Tien
Valentin Vacherot
Cameron Norrie
Jakub Mensik
Arthur Rinderknech
Arthur Fils
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Corentin Moutet
Brandon Nakashima
Ugo Humbert
Alex Michelsen
Gabriel Diallo
Denis Shapovalov
Alejandro Tabilo
Joao Fonseca
Jenson Brooksby
Adrian Mannarino
Terence Atmane
Alexei Popyrin
Zizou Bergs
Fabian Marozsan
Nuno Borges
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Sebastian Baez
Marton Fucsovics
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Kamil Majchrzak
Daniel Altmaier
Qualifier
Qualifier
Qualifier
Qualifier
Qualifier
Qualifier
Qualifier

Wildcards
Matteo Berrettini
Moise Kouame
Gael Monfils
Stan Wawrinka

Protected Ranking
Hubert Hurkacz

The post Monte Carlo Masters Entry List: Carlos Alcaraz leads seeds, French teen gets wildcard, draw date appeared first on Tennis365.

Carlos Alcaraz’s coach has claimed that the Spaniard needs to avoid showing his “weaknesses” after an emotional outburst during his Miami Open campaign.

World No 1 Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit in Miami this year, with the seven-time Grand Slam champion beaten 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the third round by 32nd seed Sebastian Korda.

It was Alcaraz’s earliest defeat of the 2026 season to date, and the Spaniard seemed far from content during the match, with the 22-year-old seen venting his frustrations towards his team during the contest.

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Towards the start of the second set, the Spaniard was overheard saying: “I can’t take it anymore, I want to go home now, man. I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it anymore, I can’t take it anymore.”

Coach Samuel Lopez has known Alcaraz for several years and officially joined the world No 1’s entourage ahead of the start of 2025, before becoming the Spaniard’s sole head coach after the departure of Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Lopez seemed to be the partial focus of Alcaraz’s Miami outburst, and the coach has now addressed the incident in a new interview.

Speaking to Eurosport Spain, Lopez claimed that Alcaraz needed to learn to “control those impulses” and not potentially give his opponents any glimmer of hope.

He said (translated from Spanish): “Let’s see, I don’t think it should be normalised in the sense of just leaving it as it is.

“But I also don’t see it as anything surprising. He’s 22, and you have to make him understand that these kinds of comments have a lot of impact, especially outside the team. Internally, we knew how we arrived in Miami and what the situation was.

“He has to try to control those impulses that he has: he has always had them, and less and less each time. He has to control them, especially for the opponent, both the player and the opposing team, not to show those weaknesses in certain moments.

“But beyond that, it’s a way of expressing himself and releasing some of the tension and fatigue that builds up. There’s no need to give it more importance.”

After failing to triumph in either Indian Wells or Miami during the Sunshine Swing, Alcaraz will look to bounce back across the clay-court swing.

The Spaniard’s clay season will start at the Monte Carlo Masters next week, where he is the defending champion, and with his world No 1 status under threat from Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz is then set to compete at the ATP 500 Barcelona Open, before returning to the Masters 1000 events in Madrid — which he was forced to withdraw from in 2025 — and in Rome, where he is also the reigning champion.

His clay season will culminate in the French Open, with the 22-year-old heading into the second Grand Slam of the year as the two-time reigning champion.

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