Carlos Alcaraz will return to competitive play for the first time since capturing his first Australian Open title in January.
Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic in the final, becoming the youngest player in tennis history to complete the ‘Career Grand Slam’ at men’s singles events.
Following the final, Alcaraz withdrew from the Rotterdam Open – surrendering the title he won 12 months ago.
Which member of the ‘Big Three’ is Carlos Alcaraz most similar to? Let us know why below👇
The 22-year-old, who now has the same number of Grand Slam titles as John McEnroe, is scheduled to make his return later this week at the Qatar Open.
And, following the release of the men’s singles draw, Alcaraz will be hopeful of winning the title for the first time in his career.
Carlos Alcaraz’s dream Doha draw
Alcaraz, the top seed in Qatar, has been drawn against Arthur Rinderknech in the first round.
Rinderknech, the 2025 Shanghai Masters finalist, is the perfect opponent for Alcaraz to kick-start his Qatar Open campaign. The Frenchman, while a threat when performing at his best, has been in poor form at the start of 2026.
Rinderknech has lost his first two ATP Tour singles matches to start the year, losing to Daniel Altmaier and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Australian Open and Rotterdam Open, respectively.
From there, Alcaraz will likely face Valentin Royer: the world number 57 who has lost his first four singles matches to start 2026.
If Alcaraz reaches the quarter-finals, he will likely face Karen Khachanov or Jaume Munar. Khachanov has failed to defeat Alcaraz once in five attempts, while Munar has defeated Alcaraz once in four attempts: at the 2021 Marbella Open.
Alcaraz has managed to avoid facing some of the ATP Tour’s best hard-court players until the latter stages. The Spaniard cannot face Daniil Medvedev until the last four, nor can he play Alexander Bublik, Jannik Sinner or Jakub Mensik until the final.
It really is a fantastic draw for Alcaraz, who has never made the Qatar Open final.
- First Round: Arthur Rinderknech
- Second Round: Valentin Royer / qualifier
- Quarter-finals: Karen Khachanov / Jaume Munar
- Semi-finals: Daniil Medvedev / Andrey Rublev / Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Final: Jannik Sinner / Alexander Bublik / Jakub Mensik / Jiri Lehecka
How did Carlos Alcaraz fare at the 2025 Qatar Open?
Alcaraz, the top seed, began his campaign at the 2025 Qatar Open by defeating Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4.
He then came through a tough three-set contest against Luca Nardi, defeating the Italian 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
Alcaraz’s run was ended in the quarter-finals by Jiri Lehecka, who defeated the Spaniard 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
After the loss, Alcaraz admitted that there was little to split the pair during the match.
“Well, I’ve talked with my team, with my coach, and, honestly, because I didn’t, I don’t know what I could have done better,” Alcaraz told reporters in Doha. “Probably a few serves, a few points that probably I didn’t play, you know, a good point.
“Honestly, I don’t know. It was kind of a difficult feelings, I guess. I mean, I have to give credit to him as well, because when he was down, especially in the third set, he didn’t give up. I mean, it was about one point. I think that’s why it makes tennis really difficult, you know, one point makes a difference.
What do you think is Carlos Alcaraz’s best surface and why?
“4-2 break point, it was just a few centimeters down in the net, so it could turn the match completely.
“But then 4-3, he started [to] play great tennis. Probably I could have done a bit better from the 4-3, but his game was incredible. He was returning pretty well, really aggressively, no mistakes, or almost no mistakes.
“So that’s what I have to learn. Next time, probably just keep going, when I was up in the match, with serves. But, you know, honestly, in my mind, I don’t know what I could have done better, and give credit to him.”
