There’s probably no such thing as a bad draw for world No. 1 Jannik Sinner at this point. His draw for the French Open is no exception.
The two players who probably have the best chance of beating Sinner – No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic (one of two players to beat Sinner this year) – are in the opposite half of the draw. The top seeds in Sinner’s half of the draw – No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 5 Ben Shelton, and No. 6 Daniil Medvedev – have never gotten past the quarterfinals in Paris.
Sinner is scorching the tour with five ATP Masters 1000 titles already in 2026. He is bidding to complete the career Grand Slam when the 2026 French Open gets underway on May 24. With two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz out with an injury, it's hard to see anyone stopping him.
Who got the toughest and easiest draws for the French Open?
Toughest draw for a top seed
No. 9 seed Alexander Bublik could face former top-ten performer Denis Shapovalov in the second round and would face Sinner in the quarterfinals. Bublik would potentially have to knock off four of the event’s top six seeds to claim the title.
Best draws for Week 1
No. 18 seed Learner Tien, still just 20 years old, has shown progress on clay this season and has a chance to build momentum in the early rounds in Paris. He wouldn’t face anyone in the top 100 until the third round.
Tien’s likely opponent in the third round would be Francisco Cobolli, the No. 10 seed. Cobolli won’t face anyone in the top 80 in the first two rounds.
Worst draw
Jan-Lennard Struff, Bublik’s opponent in the first round, has it even worse than Bublik. To win the event, Struff could have to beat six players in the top 21, and no one ranked worse than No. 37.
Best opportunity for an unseeded player
Marin Cilic has the draw he needs to make a memorable run at age 37. Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion who reached the semifinals in Paris in 2022, opens against French wild card Moise Kouame.
His first match against a seeded player likely would be against No. 22 seed Cameron Norrie, who is far more comfortable on faster surfaces. His quarter of the draw doesn’t include Sinner, Zverev or Djokovic.
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