Jannik Sinner reclaims the No. 1 ranking from Carlos Alcaraz and sets sights on the French Open

For Sinner, it was a first step toward achieving his main goal for 2026: winning the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam.

ROME (AP) — Sure, Jannik Sinner is pleased to have the No. 1 ranking back. His biggest takeaways from a victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo Masters final , though, were finally winning a big clay-court title and doing it by beating his biggest rival on his most challenging surface.

“It means a lot to me, because it means I’m progressing,” Sinner said. For Sinner, it was a first step toward achieving his main goal for 2026: winning the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam. That’s an achievement that Alcaraz completed when he won the Australian Open in January — making him at 22 the youngest man to have held aloft all four major trophies.

“Winning a big tournament on clay was one of our goals for this year so there’s no better way to start,” said Simone Vagnozzi, who coaches the 24-year-old Sinner alongside Darren Cahill. Sunday’s meeting was the first on clay between the top two men’s tennis players since Alcaraz saved three match points and came back to beat Sinner in a fifth-set tiebreaker in last year’s French Open final . “I’m not surprised,” Alcaraz said.