Carlos Alcaraz has reflected on the Monte Carlo Masters final after losing to Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz was very vocal during his defeat to Sinner, losing the final against his great rival 7-6(5), 6-3.
This also meant that he lost his world number one ranking, and there were questions about whether Alcaraz would and should play the Barcelona Open next week.
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Alcaraz appears to have answered these questions in his first social media post since the Monte Carlo Masters final, where he also sent a message to Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz confirms his plans to play the Barcelona Open
Alcaraz and Sinner had not played each other this year until the Monte Carlo Masters final, in a match that was very affected by the windy conditions.
In his first post on Instagram since losing the final, Alcaraz congratulated Sinner and his team, before making it clear that he was planning to compete in Barcelona.
Alcaraz wrote, “Congratulations @janniksin and your team for the title, a spectacular run! (handshake emoji) We will continue, there is a long way to go in the clay swing! (red brick and love heart emojis) Next stop, Barcelona!”
The Barcelona Open is one of Alcaraz’s favorite tournaments on the calendar, as a two-time former champion.
Alcaraz lost to Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final last year, where he was hampered by an adductor injury, and he will be hoping to go one better this year.
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Carlos Alcaraz’s potential draw at the Barcelona Open
Alcaraz will have a short turnaround for the Barcelona Open, where he will play his first round match against qualifier Otto Virtanen.
While he has a seemingly comfortable first round match, Alcaraz faces tough opposition in his second round match against either Tomas Machac or Sebastian Baez.
Machac won the most recent match against Alcaraz, and was the only player to win a set against Sinner in Monte Carlo.
| Barcelona Open 2026 | Carlos Alcaraz’s potential opponent |
| First Round | Otto Virtanen (Q) |
| Second Round | Tomas Machac/Sebastian Baez |
| Quarterfinal | Andrey Rublev (5)/Lorenzo Sonego/Mariano Navone/Pedro Martinez (Q) |
| Semifinal | Alex de Minaur (3)/Jack Draper (8)/Tomas Martin Etcheverry/Nuno Borges |
| Final | Lorenzo Musetti (2)/Karen Khachanov (4)/Cameron Norrie (7)/Arthur Fils (9) |
Some of the potential threats to Alcaraz in Barcelona include Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Jack Draper.
Alcaraz does have the added motivation of playing in Barcelona, knowing that if he wins the title he will return to world number one again.
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