Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will return to tennis at the Qatar Open.
Neither has played a match since the Australian Open.
There, Alcaraz completed the Career Grand Slam, and Sinner lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
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So, after a short break, who will they play in their first matches back at the Qatar Open?
2026 Qatar Open draw is released – Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz given tough first-rounds
Alcaraz will play Arthur Rinderknech in the first round of the Qatar Open.
The Frenchman enjoyed his best-ever tournament late last year, reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters.
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He is, however, winless in 2026, having lost his opening matches at the Australian Open and Rotterdam Open.
Still, Alcaraz will need to get up to speed quickly in Qatar to avoid defeat against a tricky opponent.
On the other side of the draw, Sinner will play Czechia’s Tomas Machac in the first round.
Machac is one of the more inconsistent players on tour, largely due to his physical issues, but when fit, he is mightily impressive.
If Sinner hasn’t mentally recovered from his Australian Open heartbreak, Machac will be right there ready to pounce.
But, assuming they do win their first-round matches, they’ll be confident of going all the way in Doha.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Qatar Open draw
| Round | Highest-ranked potential opponent | Potential seeded opponents |
| 1R | Arthur Rinderknech (28) | – |
| 2R | Valentin Royer (57) | – |
| QF | Karen Khachanov (18) | [7] Karen Khachanov |
| SF | Daniil Medvedev (11) | [4] Daniil Medvedev, [5] Andrey Rublev |
| F | Jannik Sinner (2) | [2] Jannik Sinner, [3] Alexander Bublik, [6] Jakub Mensik, [8] Jiri Lehecka |
Jannik Sinner’s Qatar Open draw
| Round | Highest-ranked potential opponent | Potential seeded opponents |
| 1R | Tomas Machac (31) | – |
| 2R | Alexei Popyrin (50) | – |
| QF | Jakub Mensik (16) | [6] Jakub Mensik |
| SF | Alexander Bublik (10) | [3] Alexander Bublik, [8] Jiri Lehecka |
| F | Carlos Alcaraz (1) | [1] Carlos Alcaraz, [4] Daniil Medvedev, [5] Andrey Rublev, [7] Karen Khachanov |
After Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime withdrew, just three top-10 players remained in the draw.
Alcaraz, Sinner, and Alexander Bublik.
While Bublik has become an elite player as of late, you wouldn’t back him to beat the world number one or two.
With that in mind, we could well be looking at another Alcaraz vs Sinner final…
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner – The story so far
Alcaraz and Sinner’s rivalry is THE rivalry in men’s tennis.
Since their first meeting in 2021, the Spaniard and Italian have played 16 matches on the ATP Tour.
Alcaraz has had the better of Sinner so far, and leads their head-to-head 10-6.
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2025 ATP Finals – F | Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | 7-6, 7-5 |
| 2025 US Open – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 |
| 2025 Cincinnati Open – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 5-0 (RET) |
| 2025 Wimbledon – F | Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2025 French Open – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 |
| 2025 Italian Open – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 7-6, 6-1 |
| 2024 China Open – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 |
| 2024 French Open – SF | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 |
| 2024 Indian Wells – SF | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 2023 China Open – SF | Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | 7-6, 6-1 |
| 2023 Miami Open – SF | Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 |
| 2023 Indian Wells – SF | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 7-6, 6-3 |
| 2022 US Open – QF | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 |
| 2022 Croatia Open – F | Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 |
| 2022 Wimbledon – 4R | Jannik Sinner | Carlos Alcaraz | 6-1, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 |
| 2021 Paris Masters – 2R | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner | 7-6, 7-5 |
He also won two of the three Grand Slam finals they played in 2025, defeating Sinner at the French Open and US Open.
On the other hand, Sinner did take down Alcaraz to win titles at Wimbledon and the ATP Finals.
They have yet to meet in 2026, but could do so in Doha if they both make the final.
Only time will tell if the 17th installment of Sinner and Alcaraz’s rivalry will take place at the Qatar Open…
The 2026 Qatar Open begins on Monday, February 16.
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