The 2026 Rolex Paris Masters has lost its two finalists from last year before a ball is struck, and the field that remains is arguably the most open the indoor Masters 1000 has offered in years.
Who is missing
Jannik Sinner ended his season early with a right knee injury and will not defend the title he won in 2025, when he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6(4) without dropping a set. Auger-Aliassime, last year’s runner-up, has pulled out with a knee problem of his own, while Joao Fonseca has cut his campaign short to concentrate on recovery and 2027. Daniel Merida replaces Sinner and Luca van Assche replaces Fonseca.
The tournament is the ninth and last Masters 1000 of the season, played on indoor hard courts at La Defense Arena. Main-draw action runs from Monday 2 November to Sunday 8 November. Along with Monte Carlo, Paris still uses the original one-week, 56-player format.
Zverev arrives as No 1
Sinner’s absence has a ranking consequence. According to the tournament’s own preview of the entry list, Sinner’s withdrawal hands the world No 1 spot to Alexander Zverev, who also won the 2024 title in Paris. The German now has the chance to reclaim his Paris crown while sitting at the top of the rankings for the first time in his career. It fits a season in which Zverev has already been talked up as year-end No 1: see Boris Becker’s defence of that status.
Alcaraz and the Paris anomaly
Carlos Alcaraz has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at this event, an anomaly for a player of his pedigree. He arrives buoyed by his Tokyo run and by his return to the Tour at the US Open. Our look at how Alcaraz, Fils and Djokovic read the Sinner injury shows how heavily the length of the calendar weighs on the top of the game, and a fast indoor week at the end of a long year is exactly where that argument bites.
Djokovic and the ATP Finals race
Novak Djokovic is the all-time record holder in Paris with seven titles. He won his 102nd career trophy in Beijing, and another deep run could help him secure a place at the ATP Finals. He is not alone in that chase: Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Arthur Fils, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur all have reason to treat the week as a qualification run, while Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul remain in contention in the Race.
Home hopes and a returning champion
Fils, the French No 1 and Cincinnati champion, leads a home contingent that includes 2024 runner-up Ugo Humbert, Arthur Rinderknech, Quentin Halys and Van Assche. No Frenchman has won the title since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2008; Guy Forget (1991) and Sebastien Grosjean (2001) are the only others. Holger Rune, the 2022 champion, returns on a protected ranking after 335 days out with a ruptured Achilles tendon, and Rafael Jodar makes his debut.
What to watch
Three questions will define the week. Can Zverev handle the pressure of being the man to beat rather than the chaser? Can Alcaraz finally turn his Paris record around on the quick indoor surface? And can Djokovic, at his age, still treat a one-week Masters as a sprint he can win? With the two finalists from last year gone, the answers could reshape the final push towards the ATP Finals.
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