Jannik Sinner top French Open favorite

Jannik Sinner arrived at Roland Garros as the leading men’s favorite in multiple pre-tournament assessments published ahead of the 2026 French Open. ESPN ranked the world No. 1 first on its contender list on Sunday, while ATP Tour said Sinner entered Paris as the top seed and was chasing his first title at the clay-court major. Roland-Garros’ official schedule says main-draw singles began on Sunday, May 24, at Porte d’Auteuil in Paris. On the women’s side, ESPN included Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek among its top contenders ahead of the tournament. ### Why is Sinner being placed ahead of the men’s field? Jannik Sinner entered the tournament as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings with 14,700 points, according to the ATP Tour rankings page. Carlos Alcaraz was listed second on 11,960 points, with Alexander Zverev third and Novak Djokovic fourth. That ranking gap left Sinner as the top seed in Paris. (atptour.com) ATP Tour said three days ago that Sinner and Zverev were the top two seeds in the men’s singles draw and that Sinner was chasing his first Roland Garros title. The ATP’s preview added that a title in Paris would make him the seventh man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam. L’Équipe also placed Sinner alone at the top of its favorites list on Saturday. (atptour.com) The French sports daily described him as the clear favorite to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires this year. ### What recent results are backing that view? ATP Tour’s rankings breakdown for Sinner shows a run of major 2026 results that included titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome. (atptour.com) The same page lists him with five titles in 2026 and shows that he was runner-up at Roland Garros in 2025, when he earned 1,300 ranking points in Paris. (lequipe.fr) ATP Tour’s player profile lists Sinner with a 36-2 win-loss record for the year and $6.7 million in 2026 prize money. Those numbers, combined with his No. 1 ranking, help explain why pre-tournament lists have put him at the front of the men’s field. ### Which women are being grouped as the main contenders? (atptour.com) ESPN’s women’s ranking, cited in the source briefing for this story, named Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek among the leading contenders entering Paris. Roland Garros coverage from other outlets has also centered on that group, with CBS Sports describing Gauff as the defending champion in its draw coverage published two days ago. (atptour.com) Roland-Garros’ official site said the 2026 event had reached main-draw play by Sunday after the draw was made during opening week. The tournament’s homepage on Sunday also showed day-one coverage underway in Paris. ### What is the tournament schedule from here? Roland-Garros said in its official tournament schedule that the 2026 edition runs across three weeks, with main-draw singles starting Sunday, May 24. (cbssports.com) ATP Tour’s seed preview said the men’s singles event runs from May 24 to June 7. (rolandgarros.com) The official Roland-Garros results page is carrying the men’s and women’s draws as first-round play begins. The next milestone is the second week in Paris, followed by the singles finals on the closing weekend of June 6-7. (rolandgarros.com 1) (rolandgarros.com 2)