Carlos Alcaraz won’t return to defend his French Open title in 2026.
The 2024 and 2025 champion will be forced to watch from the side-lines as he recovers from a wrist injury he sustained in Barcelona.
How worried are you about Carlos Alcaraz’s injury?
Carlos Alcaraz will miss Rome and Roland Garros…
So the question is, who will lift the trophy in Alcaraz’s absence?
Former major finalist Greg Rusedski has now named his three favourites and one dark horse.
Greg Rusedski names Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Novak Djokovic as his Roland Garros favourites
During the latest episode of ‘Off Court Cuts‘, Rusedski named his ‘hot favourite’ to win the French Open.
“What an opportunity for Jannik Sinner, it’s just opening up as it has in Madrid,” said Rusedski.
“You know what’s impressed me? His serving numbers. His accuracy has gone up.
Serve Rating (Last 52 weeks)
- 1. Jannik Sinner – 299.6
- 2. Reilly Opelka – 299.4
- 3. Taylor Fritz – 297.6
- 4. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard – 296.7
- 5. Ben Shelton – 295.8
“He’s been by far the better player since the end of the Australian Open.
“He’s won every Masters series to date.
2026 Masters 1000 winners
- Indian Wells – Jannik Sinner
- Miami Open – Jannik Sinner
- Monte Carlo Masters – Jannik Sinner
“I have a sneaky feeling he might win in Madrid, win in Rome, but the one in Paris is the one that hurt him last year.
“I feel Sinner is the hot favourite right now; his preparation is perfect. He’d need some sort of freak accident to stop him, because he is just putting himself on a different level from everybody else at the moment.”
Can anyone now stop Jannik Sinner from winning Roland Garros after Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal?
If yes, who?
When asked to name other potential contenders, two names immediately came to Rusedski.
“Well, there are a lot of people saying, ‘Okay, Carlos is out of the French, I don’t have to beat Alcaraz and Sinner back-to-back, to win a major, I only have to beat Sinner.’ So it’s going to be interesting to see where Novak [Djokovic] shows up in Rome,” he said.
“All of a sudden, he’s thinking, ‘Hmmm, maybe there is an opportunity here’. [Alexander] Zverev will be thinking the same thing, and he’s been the most consistent guy out there apart from Alcaraz and Sinner.
“All of a sudden, maybe there is a bit more belief, because it’s only one guy on one given day that you have to come through, not both of them back-to-back.
“Another guy who is a dark horse is [Arthur] Fils, who won in Barcelona.
“He’s playing well, being a Frenchman in France, that is a big deal.
“All of a sudden, people are lining up thinking, What an opportunity.”
Greg Rusedski’s French Open favourites compared
| Player | Best French Open performance | French Open W/L record | French Open Win % |
| Jannik Sinner | F – 2025 | 22-6 | 79% |
| Novak Djokovic | W – 2016, 2021, 2023 | 101-17 | 86% |
| Alexander Zverev | F – 2024 | 38-10 | 79% |
| Arthur Fils | 3R – 2025 | 2-2 | 50% |
Of the four players Rusedski named, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has played the best in Paris, winning three titles.
At 38, Djokovic may never have a better chance to win another Grand Slam…
Greg Rusedski delivers his verdict on Carlos Alcaraz’s injury
Rusedski also took the time to comment on Alcaraz’s injury.
“This doesn’t look good for Carlos. We were worried about him missing Madrid and Rome, but pulling out of Paris tells us that it’s a little more serious,” he said.
“I think it’s the right play. Health is wealth.
“He’s already won seven majors at such a young age, he has all four Slams already, it’s just incredible what he has done.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Grand Slam wins
- 2022 US Open
- 2023 Wimbledon
- 2024 French Open
- 2024 Wimbledon
- 2025 French Open
- 2025 US Open
- 2026 Australian Open
“This is where the team has managed him correctly, not putting any expectation, any pressure… And he wants to try to be ready for Wimbledon, he lost that tough final last year to [Jannik] Sinner. This is a rivalry everyone wants to see continuing: Sinner/Alcaraz.
“But it is a little disconcerting because he’s going to miss Paris, that’s an extra two weeks away, which is a total of four and a half weeks off with the injury, then after that, you think to yourself, is he going to have enough time, three weeks after, to get ready for the Wimbledon Championships? So hopefully he will be back for the grass-court season, but this puts a lot of things in doubt.”
Rusedski was then asked if he believes Alcaraz can play Wimbledon without playing Queen’s beforehand.
“It’s not going to be ideal, but fingers crossed, by about the second week of Paris, he’s already into his stride.
“Also, when you’re playing on clay, they are long, drawn-out rallies; on the grass court, it’s a little bit shorter, a little sharper as well. And it just depends on what the conditions are going to be like in summer, if it’s hot, the ball goes through the air quickly, if it’s cooler, it goes a little slower.
“Carlos will only come back when he is 100% fit and ready to go.
“Let’s hope that it’s not too serious, because he will truly be missed in Paris.”
It remains to be seen when and where Alcaraz will return, but it’s definitely worrying to see him withdraw from Roland Garros so early.
