Patrick Mouratoglou Drops Bombshell: “Sinner Won’t Join” Any French Open Boycott

Sinner expected to play French Open despite boycott rumours

Jannik Sinner has the chance to make history at Roland Garros this year, as he looks to complete the Career Grand Slam.

With Carlos Alcaraz pulling out, the Italian heads into Paris as the clear favourite.

Sinner is scheduled to begin his campaign next week, although there have been recent questions about whether he’ll appear following calls for Grand Slam boycotts. Those calls have been led by women’s number one Aryna Sabalenka.

Sabalenka has said players may begin boycotting events if there isn’t a change in prize money across the four majors.

But Patrick Mouratoglou, who used to coach Serena Williams, doesn’t see any possibility of Sinner missing the 2026 French Open.

Patrick Mouratoglou is sceptical about the prospect of a Roland Garros boycott

Mouratoglou shared his thoughts on Instagram, saying: “I don’t believe in the boycott this year, it’s still very new for the top players to get together and put pressure on an event or a governing body.

“You have PTPA on the side, which is the association of the players. Then you have this new group that puts together most of the top ones, and this one has clearly more power because if they decide we’re not going to play Roland Garros, then Roland Garros will have to take decisions.

“But it’s new. For some players to play Roland Garros this particular year can be the most important goal of their whole season.

“For someone like Sinner, there is so much on the line for him. He’s not going to screw everything up to get a bit more prize money. It would not make sense for him.

“The only way to have the power is to be all on the same line with the same aligned interest, which I don’t feel is the case.

“So I don’t think they’re going to boycott or even threaten to boycott Roland Garros this year.”

Sinner drawn against Clement Tabur in the opening round at Roland Garros

Sinner will open his 2026 French Open campaign against Clement Tabur, a 26-year-old Frenchman they’ve never met before on tour.

If he comes through that as expected, the four-time Grand Slam winner would then face either Juan Manuel Cerundolo or Jacob Fearnley in the second round.

The Italian not only comes into the tournament as the favourite, but also with a draw that works in his favour. He wouldn’t have to face Alexander Zverev or Novak Djokovic until the final.

According to the projected path, Sinner could see Ben Shelton in the quarters and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semis. If he lifts the trophy, Sinner would become just the seventh man in Open Era history to complete a Career Grand Slam – joining Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz.

Read more: