The clay court season of Jannik Sinner officially starts from Monte Carlo Masters 2026, one of the most prestigious tournaments of the ATP Masters 1000. The Italian arrives in the Principality after having already put the titles of Indian Wells and Miami in his collection, completing the so-called Sunshine Double without losing a single set in 12 matches: a unique result that certifies his dominance on hard courts.
But now the stage changes: we move to clay, a surface that on paper favours Carlos Alcaraz, the current world number one. This is precisely why Monte Carlo represents an important crossroads: the Spaniard is called upon to defend the points earned with the 2025 victory, while Sinner arrives without points to defend and with everything to gain. It's an ideal situation for the Italian, who can exploit this "advantage" to close the gap and quickly return to threaten the top of the ATP rankings.
Monte Carlo: Sinner and the Italians' scoreboard
Il draw it inserted Sinner in the lower part of the draw, along with players like Alexander Zverev and Daniel MedvedevThe Italian, seeded number 2, will debut directly in the second round against one of Ugo Humbert and the young man Moses Kouame, wild card class of 2009.
In his possible path, in the round of 16 he could meet Stefanos Tsitsipas o Francisco Cerundolo, in the quarter-finals one between Casper Ruud e Felix Auger Aliassime, and in the semi-final one between Zverev e Medvedev. The possible challenge with alcaraz can only arrive in the final. In the upper part of the board, in fact, there is the Spanish, who will start against one of Sebastian Baez e Stan Wawrinka.
Among other Italians: Lorenzo Mustetti (no. 4 seed) is in the top half and will debut against either Valentin Vacherot or Kamil Majchrzak; Flavio Cobolli will face a qualifier; Luciano Darderi will challenge Hubert Hurkacz; while Matteo Berrettini, in the lower half, will play against a qualifier and could face Medvedev in the second round. Possible Italian derbies in the later stages are not ruled out.
Monte Carlo 2026 Schedule: When does Sinner play?
The 2026 Monte Carlo Masters is being held by 4 12 to April, with the qualifiers starting on the 4th and the main draw starting on Sunday 5th April, when the first round will be played starting at 11:00 am. The first round matches will be completed on Monday 6th April, while the second round will be played between Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th April: it is precisely in these days that the Jannik's debut. The tournament then gets into full swing with the round of 16 on Thursday 9 April (from 11:00), followed by the quarter-finals on Friday 10 April (also from 11:00). semifinals will be held on Saturday 11 April, not before 1.30pm, while the final The event is scheduled for Sunday, April 12th, at 15:00 PM. All times are in Italian time and are subject to change based on the duration of the matches.
ATP Rankings: Sinner can return to number one in Monte Carlo
La race for number one The battle between Sinner and Alcaraz is heating up in Monte Carlo. Carlos currently leads the ATP rankings with 13.590 points, while Jannik is second with 12.400But the key statistic is the "virtual" one: the Spaniard has 1.000 points to defend from 2025, while the Italian has nothing to defend. For this reason, before the tournament even begins, Alcaraz's score drops to 12.590, and the gap between the two is reduced to just 190 points.
In practice, Alcaraz must get as far ahead as possible to defend the top spot, while Sinner can only gain ground: if the Italian does better than the Spaniard – accumulating at least 200 more points – he can complete the overtaking and return to world number one.
Monte Carlo Masters 2026: Where to Watch the Matches
Jannik Sinner's matches at the Monte Carlo Masters 2026, ATP Masters 1000 tournament, will be broadcast live in Italy via satellite on the channels of Sky Sports and streaming on platforms Sky Go, Now TV e Tennis TV.
