Jannik Sinner's elimination from Roland Garros, losing due to a medical problem when he was right about to sweep Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, has opened the Grand Slam in ways nobody expected. The last nine Grand Slams were always won by either Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, who is out through injury and will also miss Wimbledon. Without them, who will win the French Open 2026 is anybody's guess.
Logically, one would expect the next higher ranked players would have better chances of winning. World No. 3 Alexander Zverev has won 24 ATP singles titles, but has never won a Grand Slam, despite reaching three finals. This Roland Garros present a rare chance for the 29-year-old German without facing his toughest opponent: Sinner has swept Zverev in their last nine matches, every single one of them since 2024, including four matches this 2026 in Masters 1,000 events where Zverev was completely overpowered, without even claiming a set from the Italian.
However, this may indeed, truly, be the final chance for ageing Novak Djokovic, who turned 39 last week and has played limited number of matches this season, reserving himself for Grand Slams (reached at least the semi-finals in each of the past five majors, including the Australian Open final in February), with the goal of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title in his career. However, he faces a huge test today, playing at 15:30 CEST, at the peak of the heat wave (temperatures expected around 34ºC) against Joao Fonseca, a 20-year-old super talent who many believe will win a Grand Slam someday... why not now?
But if we're talking about young talents, apart from Sinner almost nobody has a better record on clay this year than Rafael Jódar, 17-3 in his first season at the ATP circuit, who won an ATP 250 title in Marrakech and then reached semi-finals in Barcelona ATP 500 and quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome ATP 1,000. The Spaniard has a relatively easier path in Roland Garros before a potential match against Zverev on quarter-finals.
But honestly, it wouldn't be out of the question if somebody else won Roland Garros, even the French teenager Moïse Kouamé, who recently turned 17, is a real contender, aided by the crowds chanting a new rising star in France.
Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Miñaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Martín Landaluce... without Sinner, this feels like the most open Grand Slam in years. Who do you think will win Roland Garros 2026?