Will bigger truly be better at the Rolex Paris Masters?
At the tournament's new home, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are in the same draw for the first time since the US Open, while Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud make 11th-hour bids for Turin.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner haven’t wasted any time sweeping through the ATP’s most important events. Between them, they’ve won all four majors, the ATP Finals, the Davis Cup, and eight of the nine Masters 1000s. Neither has turned 25 yet.
The one missing crown from their collection is the Paris Masters, which starts on Monday. The Spaniard and the Italian, who are the top two seeds, will be heavily favored to face off for the title. In the last five tournaments that both of them have entered, they’ve met in the final each time.
The event has a new and much larger home this year, at the Paris La Défense Arena in the suburb of Nanterre. The stadium seats 30,000 for its rugby team. The old arena, in Bercy, had a warm vibe, as the French tennis community gathered to close out another season together. It will be interesting to see if tennis’s current bigger-is-better mindset pays off, or makes us yearn for the old days.
Here are three things to look for in the coming week.
Who has the tougher road ahead, Sinner or Alcaraz?
If their streak of finals is going to end anywhere, it will probably be here. The success they’ve had everywhere else has not manifested itself—at all—at this tournament.
Alcaraz is 5-4 here, has made one quarterfinal, and went out in the second and third rounds the last two years. Sinner is 1-2, has never been out of the third round, and skipped it in 2024.
Can either, or both, of them turn that around in 2025? The vibes seem right this time. Alcaraz is coming here as the world No. 1, and has won 18 straight non-Laver Cup matches. Sinner will arrive after a title in Vienna on Sunday, and 21 straight wins on indoor hard courts.
Alcaraz starts against either Cameron Norrie or Sebastian Baez; the first seed he might face is Jiri Lehecka; he could play Casper Ruud or Felix Auger Aliassime in the quarters; and, possibly, Taylor Fritz in the semis.
Sinner will open against either Alex Michelsen or Zizou Bergs; Ben Shelton or Andrey Rublev are possible quarterfinal foes; and he could meed Lorenzo Musetti or Alexander Zverev in the semis.
Which of those sounds more difficult? Maybe you could say Alcaraz will have it tougher if he faces Auger Aliassime or Ruud. Those guys are both making a big push for Turin right now.
Either way, despite their history here, it’s hard to believe that Alcaraz and Sinner won’t find a way to get together this coming Sunday.
Who is chasing a place at the ATP Finals?
Alcaraz, Sinner, Zverev, and Novak Djokovic—who is not in Paris—have locked up the top four spots at the year-end championships. Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Alex se Minaur, and Lorenzo Musetti have the next four positions pretty well in hand. Auger0Aliassime is 400 points behind Musetti at No. 9, and Ruud is 400 points behind FAA at No. 10. Daniil Medvedev needs a season’s-best performance to vault into contention.
FAA and Ruud may get a chance to fight it out early this week; they’re scheduled to play in the third round. Unfortunately for them, the winner will likely run into Sinner in the quarters.
Musetti has a bye to start, but could see Medvedev in the third round, and Zverev in the quarters. De Minaur, with Karen Khachanov in the third round, may have the smoothest path of anybody.
What are the early-round matches to watch?
Carlos Alcaraz vs. Cameron Norrie
The Brit needs to win a first-rounder to make this happen, but he has proven to be a pest against Alcaraz in the past.
Jiri Lehecka vs. Valentin Vacherot
Vacherot, champion in Shanghai earlier this month, will make a hero’s entrance at home. If he and his cousin, Arthur Rinderknech, both win, they’ll meet in the second round.
Joao Fonseca vs. Denis Shapovalov
Fonseca will ride title-winning momentum to Paris after his week in Basel.
Read more: Joao Fonseca, 19, defeats Davidovich Fokina for first ATP 500 title of career in Basel
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Grigor Dimitrov
A Frenchman vs. a crowd favorite who will be playing for the first time since tearing his pec at Wimbledon, when he was two sets up on Sinner, the eventual champion.
Daniil Medvedev vs. Jaume Munar
If you like a thoughtful baseline grind, this is the war for you. Munar won their only meeting, this spring in Miami.