Jannik Sinner eyes French Open title after injured Carlos Alcaraz withdraws
World number one Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to claim his maiden French Open title after two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament with a right wrist injury.
The 22-year-old Spaniard was forced to pull out of Roland-Garros following medical tests on his wrist.
Alcaraz had previously enjoyed a stellar start to the year, capturing his first Australian Open title to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.
His absence clears the path for the top seed to secure his own career Grand Slam at the age of 24.
Unstoppable form on the clay
The Italian arrives in Paris in devastating form following a brutal 6-1 6-2 victory over Alexander Zverev in the Madrid Open final.
That 57-minute demolition earned him a fifth successive Masters 1000 crown.
It adds to an incredible run of recent triumphs in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo.
His sheer dominance is starkly reflected in the live ATP rankings.
The 24-year-old currently leads third-ranked Zverev by an astonishing 8,095 points.
To highlight the massive disparity, the world number 1,000 is closer in points to the German than Zverev is to the tour leader.
A devastating blow for tennis
The untimely withdrawal robs spectators of a highly anticipated battle between the sport’s two brightest stars.
Tennis commentator Jonathan Overend described the Spaniard’s injury as terrible news for the tournament.
“It’s pretty devastating because in men’s tennis it means Sinner and Alcaraz.”
“They’ve played many times already in their young rivalry but if we’re really honest they haven’t played a classic match since the French Open final of last season.”
Recent encounters on the tour have failed to replicate the high drama of their epic 2025 Roland-Garros showdown.
A largely one-sided clash in difficult Monte Carlo conditions saw the former Parisian champion capitulate in the closing stages.
“Are we ever going to hit the heights of Roland-Garros 2025 again? I hope we do, but we’ve had these one-sided matches and now we have the injury to Alcaraz, which is going to prevent us from seeing another battle between the top two for a couple of months at the earliest.”