Jannik Sinner can make history this year at Roland Garros by completing the Career Grand Slam.
The Italian will be the overwhelming favourite to go all the way in Paris, following Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal.
Sinner will get his campaign underway next week, though doubts were cast over his likelihood of appearing at the tournament recently amid calls for Grand Slam boycotts, led by women’s number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Top stars on both the ATP and WTA tours have asked for a larger share of Grand Slam tournament revenue, and Sabalenka said players may start boycotting the events if no changes are made to prize money at the four majors.
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But Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, does not think there is any chance Sinner will miss out on the 2026 French Open.
Patrick Mouratoglou does not think players will boycott Roland Garros
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “I don’t believe in the boycott this year, it’s still very new for the top players to get together and put pressure on an event or a governing body.
“You have PTPA on the side, which is the association of the players. Then you have this new group that puts together most of the top ones, and this one has clearly more power because if they decide we’re not going to play Roland Garros, then Roland Garros will have to take decisions.
“But it’s new. For some players to play Roland Garros this particular year can be the most important goal of their whole season.
Jannik Sinner is now a bigger favorite to win Roland Garros than Rafael Nadal ever was
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“For someone like Sinner, there is so much on the line for him. He’s not going to screw everything up to get a bit more prize money. It would not make sense for him.
“The only way to have the power is to be all on the same line with the same aligned interest, which I don’t feel is the case.
“So I don’t think they’re going to boycott or even threaten to boycott Roland Garros this year.”
Jannik Sinner’s opening matchup at the 2026 French Open
Sinner will take on Clement Tabur in his first-round matchup at the 2026 French Open; a 26-year-old Frenchman whom he has never faced before.
Should he win that, as expected, the four-time Grand Slam champion will meet either Juan Manuel Cerundolo or Jacob Fearnley.
As well as being the heavy favourite, Sinner has been handed a very favourable draw, in which he can avoid Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic until the final.
Sinner is projected to meet Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals.
Should he win the title, he’ll become the seventh man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam, joining Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz.
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