Seven Favorites To Win The French Open Now That Jannik Sinner And Carlos Alcaraz Are Both Out

If you asked any tennis fan prior to the start of the season who would win the men’s championship at the 2026 French Open, almost every single one would answer with either Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, is the two-time defending champion at the event and is a seven-time grand slam winner, while Sinner, the top-ranked player in the world, reached the finals last year and led Alcaraz two sets to none before a thrilling comeback. Sinner is also a four-time major champion in his own right.

Fast forward several months, and the reality is that neither Alcaraz nor Sinner will be this year’s champion. The Spanish star pulled out of the event as well as the upcoming Wimbledon Championships due to injury, and Sinner suffered a stunning second-round upset to Juan Manuel Cerundolo after leading by two sets and up 5-1 in the third set.

Sinner suffered from severe cramping, and Cerundolo came back to win: 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.

So, where does that leave us now?

The 2026 French Open Men’s Draw Is Absolutely Wide Open

With Alcaraz and Sinner both out, Novak Djokovic is the only player remaining in the tournament who has previously won a grand slam. Of course, Djokovic has a record 24 Grand Slam victories on his resume. However, he hasn’t won the French Open since 2023.

Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev, the only other Grand Slam champion in the draw, lost in the first round to Australian Adam Walton.

That makes for as wide-open a Grand Slam on the men’s side as we’ve seen in ages. The last player not named Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic, or Nadal to win a men’s Grand Slam was Medvedev at the 2021 U.S. Open. Dominic Thiem, who has since retired, was the last before him at the 2020 U.S. Open.

Perhaps Djokovic, who is now 39 years old and has yet to win this season, rolls through the field and renders this discussion obsolete. But if not, we’re looking at a stunning result.

These seven players, according to DraftKings, are now the favorites to win the French Open in light of Alcaraz and Sinner’s misfortune.

7) Flavio Coboli +2200

If Sinner can’t win the French Open, then what about his fellow country, Flavio Cobolli? The 24-year-old Italian is the No. 10 seed in the tournament and reached the third round of the tournament a year ago.

Cobolli had impressive showing on clay recently at the Madrid Open, where he reached the quarterfinals before falling to Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

Cobolli may seem like a longshot, and even now the books feel the same way at 22/1, but given the wide open draw, there are certainly worse gambles you take. He’ll face 18th seed and 20-year-old American rising star Learner Tien in the third round.

6) Francisco Cerundolo +1500

In what would be an absolutely incredible turn of events, Juan Cerundolo’s upset victory over Sinner in the second round could benefit nobody more than his older brother, Francisco.

The 27-year-old from Buenos Aires reached the fourth round of the French Open both in 2023 and 2024 and is the No. 25 seed in this year’s draw.

However, he now finds himself with a fairly wide open draw to make a deep run through this year’s event, with a potential fourth-round matchup against the aformentioned Cobolli potentially on tap.

5) Ben Shelton +1300

It has now been nearly 23 years since Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open and became the last American man to lay claim to a Grand Slam victory.

Could Ben Shelton be the one to end the streak?

The 23-year-old has twice reached semifinals, once each in the U.S. Open and Australian Open. But clay courts have not been as kind to him. His best performance at the French Open came last year with a fourth-round appearance.

Still, Shelton has a monster serve that has the ability to overwhelm just about anyone when it’s on. If he can get by Belgian Raphael Colignon in the second round, he could meet 2021 French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in round three.

4) Rafael Jodar +850

Rafael Nadal’s incredible career spurned an entire next generation of Spanish tennis stars. While Alcaraz obviously leads the way, 19-year-old Rafael Jodar might not be far behind.

Jodar, who played collegiately for the University of Virginia, is already ranked No. 29 in the world and it’s not hard to see why. He claimed his first ATP championship earlier this season in Morocco, which just so happened to be on a clay court, and he made the semifinals in both the Italian and Madrid Opens, both of which are played on clay courts.

Jodar may be just 19 years old, but he’s got the game to hang with anybody on the planet, especially on clay.

3) Casper Ruud +800

While Casper Ruud is currently the No. 17 ranked player in the world and only seeded 15th for the French Open, it’s easy to see why he’s this high up the odds.

Ruud is a two-time finalist at Roland-Garros, falling to Nadal in the finals in 2022 and Djokovic one year later.

He also won the 2025 Madrid Open, and reached the finals of this season’s Italian Open. So it’s safe to say that Ruud knows how to get it done on clay courts.

He’s set to square off with American Tommy Paul in the third round. Should he defeat Paul, who reached the quarterfinals a year ago, the winner is staring down a matchup with either Djokovic or 19-year-old Brazilian star Joao Fonseca.

2) Novak Djokovic +350

Sure, Novak Djokovic has not won a Grand Slam since 2023, and 39 years old, father time is undeniably working against him. But this might well be his last and best chance to win Grand Slam No. 25.

Djokovic still enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed, and he showed he can still hang with the best players in the world earlier this season in Melbourne, where he reached the finals of the Australian Open before falling to Alcaraz in four sets.

While Djokovic would be a heads up underdog against either Sinner or Alcaraz, with both gone, you’d hard pressed to bet against him to not just reach the finals, but to win yet another Grand Slam.

1) Alexander Zverev +185

Alexander “Sascha” Zverev is loud, he’s brash, and he’s supremely talented. Unfortunately for the 29-year-old German, he’s also well known for failing to get the job done when the chips are down.

The world No. 3, who was previously ranked as high as No. 2, has reached three Grand Slam finals, but failed to win any of the three. In the 2020 U.S. Open final, he was heavy favorite over Dominic Thiem and took the first two sets before Thiem came roaring back.

Zverev then lost the 2024 French Open final to Alcaraz in five sets and the 2025 Australian Open final to Sinner in straight sets.

There’s no doubt that Zverev has the game to win the French Open, and with Sinner and Alcaraz out of the way there’s a reason he’s considered the favorite. But the question is whether or not he can keep his head long enough to finally claim that elusive Grand Slam victory.