Carlos Alcaraz is set to contest his first match of the 2026 Barcelona Open against world number 130 Otto Virtanen.
Alcaraz recently surrendered the world number one ranking to Jannik Sinner after losing the Monte Carlo Masters final.
However, he has the opportunity to immediately reclaim the top spot in Barcelona.
Should Carlos Alcaraz hire another coach after his recent results?
If so, who should he hire? 🤔
Alcaraz will need to win the Barcelona Open – something he has done twice previously – to become world number one once again.
And on this occasion, Alcaraz will not need to go through Jannik Sinner to reclaim the top spot.
Carlos Alcaraz says he will not ‘miss’ playing Jannik Sinner in Barcelona
Alcaraz, the top seed in Barcelona, discussed the motivation of potentially returning to the world number one spot while speaking to journalists in the Spanish city.
“Being number one in Barcelona is an extra motivation,” Alcaraz said during his pre-tournament press conference. “I saw that I have to win here if I want to get it back.
“The battle I have with Jannik is a beautiful one, but I’m focused and with the goal in mind of continuing to improve.”
“It’s a relief not to face him in every tournament, but he’s one of the players who makes me a better player, who makes me realize my weaknesses and see where I need to focus in every training session and every match.
“But I definitely won’t miss him this week.”
Sinner and Alcaraz have exchanged the world number one ranking on four occasions since Alcaraz’s victory in the 2025 US Open final.
Sinner briefly reclaimed the top spot in November, before Alcaraz secured the year-end world number one spot after reaching the final of the ATP Finals.
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
Few would bet against Alcaraz reclaiming the world number one position this week. After all, he is a two-time champion in Barcelona and a the favourite to win the 2026 title.
Carlos Alcaraz’s performance at the 2025 Barcelona Open
Carlos Alcaraz began his 2025 campaign in Barcelona by defeating Ethan Quinn, Laslo Djere, Alex de Minaur and Arthur Fils – all in straight sets.
Alcaraz was the hot favourite going into the final. However, the final proved to be one step too far for the Spaniard, as he lost 6-7, 2-6 to Danish star Holger Rune.
| Round | Opponent | Result |
| First Round | Ethan Quinn | 6-2, 7-6 |
| Second Round | Laslo Djere | 6-2, 6-4 |
| Quarter-finals | Alex de Minaur | 7-5, 6-3 |
| Semi-finals | Arthur Fils | 6-2, 6-4 |
| Final | Holger Rune | 6-7, 2-6 |
After the match, Rune admitted he had been inspired by Novak Djokovic’s defeat of Alcaraz in the 2024 Olympic final.
“I told myself OK, what did Novak do when he beat him?” Rune said after clinching victory.
“I kind of played it in my mind, the Olympic final, and I thought to myself let’s try to play that kind of style, really make him play a lot of balls.
“I’m really happy about how I stayed composed when it really mattered. I was also very brave when it mattered.”
