The 119th edition of the Monte Carlo Masters is approaching, with a potentially new name about to join the prestigious roll of honour.
Carlos Alcaraz won the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time last year, and that has given this year’s tournament an extra special feel.
Not only will he be defending his title, but after Jannik Sinner won the Miami Open, Alcaraz’s world number one ranking is also on the line.
Sinner knows that if he wins the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time he will become world number one again and join a champions list that is dominated by one player in particular.
All the singles champions at the Monte Carlo Masters since 2010
Rafael Nadal is known as the ‘King of Clay’, and he had already made history at the Monte Carlo Masters ahead of the 2010 tournament.
Having won his fifth title in 2009, no player in history had won more titles at the Monte Carlo Masters than Nadal.
Nadal would actually win the title at eight of his first nine appearances at the Monte Carlo Masters, amounting to an astonishing 46-match winning streak that was ended by Novak Djokovic in the 2013 final.
After failing to capture the title in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Nadal would then go on another streak in Monte Carlo, which resulted in him winning his 11th and final title in 2018.
Will Carlos Alcaraz bounce back by winning the Monte Carlo Masters?
If not, who will win the title?
In some of the years where Nadal did not win the title, Stan Wawrinka and Fabio Fognini won their sole Masters 1000 titles in Monte Carlo.
More recently, the tournament has seen Stefanos Tsitsipas win three titles, with his latest coming in 2024.
In between Tsitsipas’ three victories at the Monte Carlo Masters, Andrey Rublev won the title after beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final.
| Year | Monte Carlo Masters Singles Champion | Runner-Up |
| 2010 | Rafael Nadal | Fernando Verdasco |
| 2011 | Rafael Nadal | David Ferrer |
| 2012 | Rafael Nadal | Novak Djokovic |
| 2013 | Novak Djokovic | Rafael Nadal |
| 2014 | Stan Wawrinka | Roger Federer |
| 2015 | Novak Djokovic | Tomas Berdych |
| 2016 | Rafael Nadal | Gael Monfils |
| 2017 | Rafael Nadal | Albert Ramos Vinolas |
| 2018 | Rafael Nadal | Kei Nishikori |
| 2019 | Fabio Fognini | Dusan Lajovic |
| 2021 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | Andrey Rublev |
| 2022 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina |
| 2023 | Andrey Rublev | Holger Rune |
| 2024 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | Casper Ruud |
| 2025 | Carlos Alcaraz | Lorenzo Musetti |
How many former Monte Carlo Masters champions are playing at the 2026 tournament?
Alcaraz will be the top seed at the Monte Carlo Masters this year as the defending champion, and is one of four former champions returning to the tournament.
There have been a number of withdrawals from this year’s event, including two-time former champion Djokovic electing to miss the Monte Carlo Masters this year.
However, both Tsitsipas and Rublev will be returning to Monte Carlo this year, despite being at very different stages of their careers than when they won the title.
This is especially relevant to Tsitsipas, who is now the world number 49 after struggling for form over the past 12 months.
Will Jannik Sinner win the French Open?
Wawrinka is retiring from tennis in 2026, and he will make his final appearance at the Monte Carlo Masters after receiving a wildcard.
Last year’s runner-up Lorenzo Musetti will return to the Monte Carlo Masters this year, and he will be joined by two other former finalists in Casper Ruud and Gael Monfils returning to the tournament.
The main draw of the 2026 Monte Carlo Masters gets underway on Sunday, April 5.
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