French Open sees seven men withdraw

Roland Garros began on Sunday with a thinner men’s field than expected after seven withdrawals before main-draw play, including defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti and French No. 1 Arthur Fils. Tournament and ATP materials confirmed Alcaraz, Musetti, Jack Draper and Fils were out before the start of the 2026 French Open, while the official draw showed replacement players and late changes in several spots. (atptour.com) The result was not a redraw of the bracket, but a reshaped one. Alternates moved directly into the 128-player field before the draw was finalized, and after qualifying, lucky losers also appeared in the published men’s bracket. (rolandgarros.com) The official draw lists players such as Coleman Wong and Jesper de Jong with an “L” designation, indicating lucky-loser entry. ### Which seven withdrawals mattered most before play started? ATP tournament preview materials identified four of the highest-profile men’s absences: Alcaraz, Musetti, Draper and Fils. Alcaraz, the world No. 2, withdrew with what ATP described as a wrist issue; Musetti had already been removed from the field by May 13, prompting Stan Wawrinka to move directly into the main draw from a wildcard place. (atptour.com) Arthur Fils became the latest major absentee on Saturday, one day before play, after pulling out with the hip injury that had also affected him in Rome, according to reports from The Athletic and Yahoo Sports. (rolandgarros.com) Other tennis outlets reporting on the seven-player list also included Holger Rune among the men missing Paris, alongside the better-known names at the top of the field. ### How did the draw change once players came out? Roland Garros published an updated men’s singles draw showing how the vacancies were absorbed. The clearest example came earlier in May, when the tournament said Musetti’s withdrawal moved Wawrinka directly into the main draw and transferred the wildcard originally assigned to Wawrinka to French player Clément Tabur. (atptour.com) The final bracket also shows multiple replacement paths. Coleman Wong and Jesper de Jong entered as lucky losers, while wild cards including Tabur, Gaël Monfils, Nishesh Basavareddy, Arthur Gea and Adam Walton appear in the field. (nytimes.com) Those changes affected first-round pairings without altering the tournament’s seeded structure at the top. ### Why was Alcaraz’s withdrawal the biggest change? Carlos Alcaraz arrived as the two-time defending champion and the No. 2 player in the world. ATP said his withdrawal marked the fifth time in the Open Era that the reigning Roland Garros men’s champion did not defend the title. (rolandgarros.com) Alcaraz had announced last month that he would miss both Rome and Roland Garros because of injury. His exit removed the defending champion from the top tier of contenders and left Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, as the leading men’s name in Paris. (rolandgarros.com) ### Who benefits from the depleted field? Jannik Sinner entered Paris on a 29-match winning streak, according to ATP’s tournament preview, and was guaranteed to remain No. 1 regardless of his result. Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, opened his 82nd Grand Slam main draw and sought a record 25th major singles title. (atptour.com) The official draw also gave lower-ranked entrants a path into the tournament that did not exist when the original entry list was published on April 14 and later updated on May 23. Roland Garros said the event runs from May 24 to June 7, with the full men’s draw and daily results available on its official site. (atptour.com) (rolandgarros.com) (atptour.com)