Tennis returns to clay for the first of three ATP Masters 1000 events of the clay-court season as world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, red-hot Jannik Sinner and British No 1 Cameron Norrie headline the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, live on Sky Sports Tennis. Seven of the ATP’s top 10 will compete in the principality; notable absentees include Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Jack Draper (who withdrew).
Defending champion Alcaraz, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 3-6 6-1 6-0 in last year’s final, meets a Sinner coming off the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami — the Italian won both without dropping a set. Sinner has narrowed the rankings gap: Alcaraz remains 1,190 points clear, but Alcaraz must defend 4,300 clay-court swing points while Sinner has 1,950 to defend and no points until Rome in May.
Marion Bartoli praised Sinner’s team — headed by Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, with fitness coach Umberto Ferrara and physiotherapist Alejandro Resnicoff — saying his trust in his team and commitment to continual improvement make him “an absolutely incredible champion and very worthy.”
Cameron Norrie is the lone Brit in singles after Draper’s withdrawal. Norrie reclaimed British No 1 following a run to the Indian Wells quarter-finals and has shown strong clay form in recent seasons, reaching the French Open fourth round and the Geneva Open semi-finals, and winning the 2023 Rio Open.
The Monte-Carlo Country Club at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, opened in 1928, remains one of the circuit’s most picturesque venues.
How the draw unfolds
A 56-player singles draw will be contested at the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters, with the top eight seeds receiving byes into round two. The tournament runs Sunday 5 April to Sunday 12 April, with matches from 10am UK time. First-round matches start Monday 6 April; second round begins Tuesday 7 April. Quarter-finals are scheduled for Friday 10 April, semi-finals on Saturday 11 April, and the singles and doubles finals on Sunday 12 April.
Highlights and video features — including clips from Sinner’s Miami final and Alcaraz’s 2025 Monte-Carlo final against Musetti — are available as part of Sky Sports Tennis coverage. Watch the ATP and WTA Tours live on Sky Sports or stream via NOW and the Sky Sports app.