Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic sign up for ATP 500 event post-Australian Open
The new Big Three of Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have all signed up for the Qatar Open with the trio confirmed on the entry list alongside seven other top-20 stars.
Alcaraz and Djokovic competed at the ATP 500 event in Doha last year, but both failed to make the final as the latter was stunned in the first round by Matteo Berrettini while the Spaniard was beaten by Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-final.
Sinner, meanwhile, was on the initial entry list and was due to be seeded No 1 as he topped the ATP Rankings after successfully defending his Australian Open crown, but he had to withdraw as his three-month ban for his failed drug tests in March 2024 started a few weeks before the event.
But tournament organisers’ dream line-up will be realised in 2026 with all three set to compete with current world No 3 Alexander Zverev and No 5 Lorenzo Musetti the two top-five players missing from the line-up as they will be in action in South America.
The Qatar Open runs from February 15-22 in Doha, but it will be Alcaraz’s second tournament after the Australian Open as he is set to defend his title on the indoor courts at the Rotterdam Open the week before.
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For Sinner and Djokovic, it will be the first event after the season-opening Grand Slam with the former perhaps having to make up for missing the 2025 event.
The Serbian was initially in line to represent Serbia in the Davis Cup qualifiers against Chile, but decided
Djokovic’s decision to play is not a big surprise, despite his decision to play a reduced schedule in recent years, as he signed a lucrative multi-year deal as Global Brand Ambassador and Wellness Advisor with Qatar Airways in November 2024.
Last year, the 2024-time Grand Slam winner – who has won the Qatar Open in 2016 and 2017 – attended the Qatar Grand Prix and handed out the trophies to the top three of the Sprint Race.
Defending champion Andrey Rublev will also return, while former winners Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov have also signed up.
World No 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No 10 Alexander Bublik, No 17 Jakub Mensik and No 19 Lehecka are the other top-20 players who are set to feature at the ATP 500 tournament.
Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic are set to be the top three seeds as things stand in the ATP Rankings, but things could still change as they still have to drop/defend points from the 2025 Australian Open.
