ATP French Open: Points being dropped by Alcaraz, Sinner, Zverev, Djokovic
Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz will not defend his French Open title due to injury, but he that doesn’t mean he will not drop points at this year’s tournament while Lorenzo Musetti finds himself in the same boat as the Spaniard.
Alcaraz successfully defended his Roland Garros crown last year in a dramatic final in Paris as he saved three match points en route to beating Jannik Sinner in five sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The Spaniard, of course, earned maximum points for his 2025 title run and those points drop at the start of this year’s tournament as the ATP uses a rolling 52-week, cumulative system for the rankings.
Players then earn points for their round-by-round progression at the event, but Alcaraz won’t be able to win any points at this year’s French Open as he is absent due to a serious wrist injury that has also ruled him out of Wimbledon.
Points The Big Names Will Drop In Paris
Carlos Alcaraz – 2,000
The seven-time Grand Slam winner earned 2,000 points for his French Open title in 2025 and he will lose those points when the event gets underway, but there is a bit of good news for the 23-year-old as he will remain at No 2 in the rankings.
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Alcaraz is on 11,960 points and he will be on 9,960 in a fortnight, but he still has a big enough lead over Alexander Zverev as even if the German goes on to win the tournament he will be on 7,305 points.
Jannik Sinner – 1,300
Sinner will start the 2026 French Open as the clear favourite, and not just because Alcaraz is absent, but because he has won three consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events on clay as he lifted trophies at the Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open and Italian Open.
Having finished runner-up last year, he will drop 1,300 points but will stay at No 1 even if he suffers a shock first-round exit as he is well clear of the chasing pack.
Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti – 800
Tennis great Djokovic came within two wins of winning a 25th Grand Slam, but he was denied by Sinner in the semi-final while Musetti lost in the last four against Alcaraz.
Djokovic, of course, can regain those points with another run to the last four or better, but Musetti will be -800 in terms of ranking points as he is out due to a thigh injury.
Alexander Zverev, Alexander Bublik, Frances Tiafoe, Tommy Paul – 400
Quarter-finalists earn 400 points and Zverev, Bublik, Tiafoe and Paul were the men to lose in the last eight 12 months ago.
Bublik and Tiafoe are in the same section so one of them will likely do worse than last year, while Paul will most likely have to get past Casper Ruud if he is to reach the quarters again while Zverev is among the favourites to make it to the semi-final.
Ben Shelton, Andrey Rublev, Jack Draper, Holger Rune – 200
The aforementioned four were among the players to lose in the round of 16 in 2025, but Draper and Rune won’t earn points back as they won’t compete at Roland Garros this year due to injury while Shelton finds himself in the Bublik, Tiafoe section.
Casper Ruud – 50
The Norwegian was shocked by Nuno Borges in the second round so he finds himself in a good position this time around.
Seeded 15th Ruud, though, finds himself in Djokovic’s section.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev – 10
Fourth seed Auger-Aliassime, Fritz and Medvedev were stunned in the opening round at Roland Garros last year so they will most likely go home with a positive this year.
