French Open 2026 men’s draw: Djokovic handed early hurdles, whilst Sinner & Zverev headline

The men’s singles draw for the 2026 French Open has been revealed, with Novak Djokovic handed several early tests, while Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev lead each half as the respective top seeds.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti, as well as Jack Draper and Holger Rune all withdrew from the event prior to the draw due to injury.

The French Open will take place from May 24 to June 7, with 2,000 ranking points and €2.8 million on offer for the winner.

Jannik Sinner’s half

World No 1 Sinner is, without a doubt, the man to beat in Paris after sweeping all five Masters 1000 events in 2026, putting together a 29-match winning streak.

By winning Rome, he became just the second man to win all three clay-court Masters 1000 events after Rafael Nadal did so in 2010.

Last year, he came agonisingly close to lifting his maiden title after holding three championship points against Alcaraz before losing an epic five-set match in the tournament’s longest-ever final.

This season, he will open his campaign for the Career Grand Slam against Frenchman Clement Tabur, who received a wildcard.

In the second round, the Italian could meet either Juan Manuel Cerundolo or Briton Jacob Fearnley. Sinner is yet to face Fearnley, but he dominated the Argentine 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 at Wimbledon in 2023.

The challenges begin to mount from there, with a potential third-round clash against the unpredictable Corentin Moutet or the in-form Martin Landaluce, who reached the quarter-finals in Rome.

In the last 16, Sinner is projected to face either Arthur Rinderknech or Luciano Darderi, while Ben Shelton and Alexander Bublik loom as possible quarter-final opponents.

Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is scheduled to be his semi-final opponent, with former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev, Shanghai champion Valentin Vacherot, and Italian Flavio Cobolli among the other contenders in that section.

The Canadian faces a difficult opener against clay specialist Daniel Altmaier, before possible meetings with Brandon Nakashima, Cameron Norrie, and Vacherot ahead of the quarter-finals.

Other storylines include Frenchman Gael Monfils beginning what is expected to be his final French Open campaign against compatriot Hugo Gaston.

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Alexander Zverev’s half

Meanwhile, in the other half, world No 3 Zverev leads the way and will open against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.

The German most recently competed in the Rome Masters, where he fell to Darderi after failing to capitalise on multiple match points.

From there, he could face either Tomas Machac or Zizou Bergs, before a likely meeting with the dangerous Ugo Humbert, who has either taken a set or – in 2021 – beaten Zverev in three of their four meetings.

Arthur Fils and Karen Khachanov are potential fourth-round opponents, while Taylor Fritz, Jiri Lehecka, Rafael Jodar, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina are the seeded players elsewhere in the quarter.

Three-time champion Novak Djokovic occupies the upper section of the bottom half, having won just two matches since reaching the Australian Open final in January.

After suffering from a shoulder injury, he opted to withdraw from tournaments in Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid, before returning in Rome – where he fell in his opening match.

The Serb begins against big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard before taking on either Valentin Royer or a qualifier/lucky loser.

However, things quickly become more difficult for Djokovic, with a projected third-round clash against either teenage sensation Joao Fonseca or the impressive Dino Prizmic, who defeated him in the Italian capitial.

Seeds Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul are the predicted opponents in the last 16, while Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev headline his potential quarter-final obstacles.

Similarly to Monfils, 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka is expected to be playing his final French Open and begins against 17th seed Arthur Fils.

French Open men’s singles draw projected quarter-finals

• (1) Sinner vs Shelton (5)
• (4) Auger-Aliassime vs Medvedev (6)
• (3) Djokovic vs de Minaur (8)
• (2) Zverev vs Fritz (7)

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