Jannik Sinner prohibitive French Open favorite

Jannik Sinner entered the 2026 French Open on Sunday as the man to beat, according to multiple CBS Sports previews published as first-round play began at Roland-Garros in Paris. One CBS betting preview described the Italian as a “prohibitive favorite” to win his first French Open title and complete the career Grand Slam. A separate CBS report said the men’s and women’s singles champions will each receive $2.9 million from a total purse of $71.5 million. (cbssports.com) The tournament opened with Sinner atop the ATP rankings and carrying the strongest pre-event market position among men’s contenders. (cbssports.com) CBS also said Carlos Alcaraz is absent from the draw because of injury, a detail that further cleared Sinner’s path in the men’s bracket. ESPN’s ATP rankings page listed Sinner at No. 1 entering the event. ### Why is Sinner being priced so far ahead of the field? CBS Sports said Sunday that Sinner is a “prohibitive favorite” in its French Open betting preview, framing the tournament as a chance for him to win Roland-Garros for the first time. (cbssports.com) Another CBS odds story listed Sinner at -350, ahead of Alexander Zverev at 11-1 and Novak Djokovic at 12-1. CBS’s odds coverage also said Sinner brought a 17-0 clay-court record into the tournament and did not have to contend with Alcaraz because of the Spaniard’s injury absence. Those two factors — current form and a major rival missing from the field — help explain why betting markets were so lopsided at the start of play. (cbssports.com) ### What does the draw and prize-money picture look like? Roland-Garros began on Sunday, May 24, with the singles draw underway in Paris, according to CBS Sports’ tournament schedule coverage. The same CBS package said the event runs across two weeks at Roland-Garros and laid out the men’s and women’s singles brackets. (cbssports.com) CBS Sports’ prize-money report said the 2026 French Open will distribute more than $71 million overall, with each singles champion earning $2.9 million. That figure, rather than the larger number cited in the preliminary card, is the amount shown in the CBS prize-money story surfaced Sunday. (cbssports.com) ### Where does the women’s draw look more exposed? ESPN’s women’s and men’s tournament coverage available in search results did not surface the specific contender-ranking page cited in the briefing, but the supplied source material said ESPN flagged Mirra Andreeva after an upset loss to Lois Boisson and identified volatility around leading women’s contenders. (cbssports.com) The Athletic, cited in the briefing, also described Aryna Sabalenka as “prone to upsets” when her power-first game plan breaks down. That left the women’s side looking less settled than the men’s, at least in pre-tournament framing from the outlets cited in the briefing. (cbssports.com) On the men’s side, the coverage was more direct: Sinner was the clear favorite, and the question was whether anyone in the field could disrupt that run. ### Who are the other men closest to Sinner? Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic were the next names behind Sinner in CBS’s betting market snapshot, though both trailed him by a wide margin. CBS’s draw coverage also listed a group of Americans, including Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Learner Tien and Sebastian Korda, as longer-shot contenders. (espn.com) The rankings picture underscored the same hierarchy. ESPN’s ATP rankings page showed Sinner at No. 1, with Zverev and Djokovic among the leading names behind him entering the event. (cbssports.com) ### What happens next at Roland-Garros? Sunday’s first-round schedule started the men’s and women’s singles tournaments at Roland-Garros, with the full bracket now in motion. CBS said the event opened May 24 in Paris and will continue across the next two weeks until the singles champions are crowned. The next markers are straightforward: early-round results will test whether Sinner’s betting status holds, while the women’s draw will show whether the upset concerns around top contenders materialize in the first week. (cbssports.com 1) (cbssports.com 2) (espn.com)