When the world #2 in the Mens game of tennis (& B2B winner of this event) was announced out of this tournament, my heart sank. Carlos Alcaraz is not only a joy to watch. But, he's one of the premier talents & a showman. I wish him a speedy recovery + hope to see him out on the court very soon. 

That being said, Jannik Sinner is now the -340 favorite, which is the largest pre-tournament Grand Slam favorite since Rafael Nadal at the 2009 French Open (Mens.) That's pretty great company as Nadal won this tournament 14 times. Sinner/Alcaraz had been the two best in the world by a pretty large margin heading into 2026. Therefore, I'm not too surprised with Alcaraz being absent. 

But, Novak Djokovic quickly changed some views on those two being the two best, as he went on to beat Sinner in Australia earlier this year. Since then, Sinner has pretty much been unbeatable. It's going to be very hard for someone to beat him, especially on clay at the moment. Maybe, youngster (first year pro) Rafael Jodar can give him a run for his money, as he sent their match to a tiebreaker just a month ago. 

On the Women's side of the bracket, things are getting interesting. Since completely the sunshine double, #1 Aryna Sabalenka has dropped matches in consecutive tournaments before the Semi-Final. Quite shocking considering the matchups, both against non top-20 players. 

With clay not being the specialty of this year's Australian Open winner, Elena Rybakina, that leaves plenty of opportunity for the rest of the field. Will 4-time French Open winner, Iga Świątek  finally gain her form again and cruise to a fifth? Will Coco Gauff go B2B? Let's find out together. 

Hailey Baptiste vs. Barbora Krejčíková (W) ... This is definitely the match to watch of the opening round in my opinion. No, former #2 in the world and 2021 French Open Champ Barbora Krejčíková isn't what she used to be by any means. But, you can never count a former champion out. Hailey Baptiste has risen up the rankings over the past couple of months, with a signature win over world #1 Aryna Sabalenka. I think that this match is going to be extremely intense.

Hugo Gaston vs. Gael Monfils (M) ... With so much at stake here, this could be Gael Monfils' last match here at the French Open. He definitely wants to go out with a bang on his final season on tour & what a way to do just that than to go out and look dominant in this year's event. He's matched up with another frenchman in the opening round of Roland Garros and oddsmakers are expecting an absolute show here. I do as well. Look out, this one could produce fireworks.

Anna Kalinskaya vs. Lois Boisson (W) ... If you all remember, Lois Boisson went from unknown to a French tennis icon at the last French Open. People didn't know who she was before she made it all the way to the Semi-Final as an unranked wildcard. That's pretty absurd if you'd ask me. No, I do not expect a repeat performance from the local woman. However, if she can get passed the always difficult Anna Kalinskaya, anything is possible. 

Men's: 

Jannik Sinner -340
Alexander Zverev +1000
Novak Djokovic +1200
Casper Ruud +2200
Rafael Jodar +2200
Daniil Medvedev +5000
Andrey Rublev +6500
Joao Fonseca +8000
Matteo Berrettini +10000
Adam Walton +10000

Women's: 

Aryna Sabalenka +250
Iga Swiatek +275
Elena Rybakina +650
Coco Gauff +650
Mirra Andreeva +900
Elina Svitolina +1600
Marta Kostyuk +2500
Victoria Mboko +4000 
Amanda Anisimova +4000
Qinwen Zheng +4000

 Sadly, we won't get to see Carlos Alcaraz/Jannik Sinner put on an absolute classic for us in the Men's Final like we saw a year ago. But, I'm still hoping for one of the top names to challenge the Italian without the Spaniard in this tournament. Like I mentioned at the top of this article, Novak Djokovic managed to beat Sinner back at the Australian Open earlier this year so that could definitely be something to look out for if those two meet in the final.

In the Women's side, Aryna Sabalenka has looked a bit shaky over the past month or so, dropping matches that we're so accustomed to watching her dominate. That leaves some room for some of the other women to maybe put on a show here in Paris. I think that this is about as competitive of a women's bracket as we've had in a very long time and that could definitely cause for some epic battles.

Burns' Best Bets: Iga Świątek to reach Semi Final (-125) .... Jannik Sinner to win (-340).