The European clay-court swing features some critical steam with this week’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. Carlos Alcaraz is the defending champion and can kick off his 2026 clay-court marketing campaign as he tries to rebound from a disappointing Sunshine Double. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who received the Sunshine Double by lifting trophies in each Indian Wells and Miami, can be readily available within the principality.
Here’s a preview along with my picks for the primary clay-court Masters 1000 occasion of the 2026 season.
Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
The place: Monte-Carlo, Monaco Prize cash: 6,309,095 Euros High seed: Carlos AlcarazDefending champion: Carlos Alcaraz
Who will problem the 2 finest gamers on the planet this week? Properly, it received’t be Novak Djokovic, Jack Draper, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Holger Rune, or Arthur Fils. The sphere is a bit depleted, which is nothing new since Monte-Carlo is the one Masters 1000 match that’s not required — however there are nonetheless loads of high gamers within the draw along with Alcaraz and Sinner.
Alcaraz is again on his clay-court stomping grounds and the draw is favorable for him. The opposite first-round bye recipients within the high half are Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, and Alexander Bublik. Musetti has performed just one match since struggling a leg harm within the Australian Open quarterfinals. De Minaur is 1-3 in his final 4 matches, and clay is his least favourite floor. Additionally it is Bublik’s worst floor — although the mercurial Kazakh made a run to the Roland Garros QFs final spring.
Sinner has a more durable path via his half. The second seed might face Felix Auger-Aliassime within the quarters earlier than probably operating into Alexander Zverev within the final 4. Even Francisco Cerundolo, Stefanos Tsitsipas, or Tomas Machac might current a tough take a look at for Sinner within the spherical of 16. Though Tsitsipas is slumping bigtime, he loves clay and has already received a whopping three Monte-Carlo titles.
First-round matches to observe embody Cerundolo vs. Tsitsipas, Stan Wawrinka vs. Sebastian Baez, Joao Fonseca vs. Gabriel Diallo, and Karen Khachanov vs. Arthur Rinderknech.
Quarterfinal picks: Carlos Alcaraz over Jiri Lehecka, Alexander Zverev over Joao Fonseca, Luciano Darderi over Cameron Norrie, and Jannik Sinner over Casper Ruud
Semifinal picks: Alcaraz over Zverev and Sinner over Darderi
Ultimate choose: Alcaraz over Sinner
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and likewise maintains his personal tennis web site, The Grandstand. You may comply with him on Twitter at @Dimonator.
