Tennis
Madrid Open 2026: Big Guns Continue To Flex Muscles And Dominate
William Hill News tipster Sam Cox previews the 2026 Madrid Open, looking at the men’s tournament and women’s competition as preparations ramp up ahead of Roland Garros next month.
Defending champions Casper Ruud and Aryna Sabalenka are among the big names involved in the 2026 Madrid Open.
Much of the pre-tournament news has been dominated by absentees, though, with Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Emma Raducanu, and Emma Navarro among those to have withdrawn.
Madrid Open Prediction:
- Jannik Sinner to win the men’s competition
- Aryna Sabalenka to win the women’s competition
Jannik Sinner, who has won his last three events, has confirmed his participation and the Italian is the clear betting favourite in the men’s draw. Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Iga Świątek are among the favourites in the women’s draw.
Men’s Tournament
Sinner began the European clay-court swing with an imperious showing in Monte Carlo. The Italian dropped a lone set on his way to victory, which included a straight-sets beating of Alcaraz in the final.
Ben Shelton and Arthur Fils have won in Munich and Barcelona, respectively, with Alexander Zverev making it two semi-final appearances in three clay-court events.
In Alcaraz’s absence, the bottom half of the draw is wide-open. Zverev and Félix Auger-Aliassime are the second and third seeds, respectively, and are joined in the bottom half by defending champion Ruud, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, and Flavio Cobolli.
Cobolli was runner-up to Shelton in Munich. Khachanov has lost five of his last six matches – a high seed doesn’t give an accurate representation of Khachanov’s form, especially when compared to others in his section.
It’s almost guaranteed that Sinner will reach the final. Lorenzo Musetti and Shelton are his biggest threats, with the latter coming off a win. Neither will have an answer for the world number one.
Most of the seeded players in the bottom half of the draw can make a case for reaching the final. Francisco Cerúndolo has strong showings on clay back in February. Luciano Darderi was a semifinalist in Morocco and won in Chile. The pair are on a tantalising third-round collision course.
Madrid Open Men’s Prediction: Jannik Sinner beats Luciano Darderi in final.
Women’s Tournament
This is Sabalenka’s first clay-court appearance of the season, Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva, and Rybakina have won WTA 500 events in Charleston, Linz, and Stuttgart, respectively.
Leylah Fernandez was the only player to trouble Rybakina in Stuttgart. Up to second in the world and making light work of most of her opponents, don’t let Rybakina’s poor French Open record distract from how great she is on clay.
Rybakina’s path to the last four is pretty straightforward. She could face Coco Gauff, Pegula, or Victoria Mboko in the semis, with Pegula carrying the best form of that trio.
It feels a bit reductive to suggest this will come down to Sabalenka or Rybakina. They are far and away the best two players in the world at the moment, though, and Rybakina has won her last 13 matches against non-Sabalenka opponents.
The biggest question is how long it takes Sabalenka to adapt in her first clay-court tournament of the year. Sabalenka is heading to familiar surroundings, with three Madrid Open titles to her name, including two of the last three.
This tournament is set up for another showdown between the world’s top two players. Sabalenka has the edge at the moment, but it should be a classic.
Madrid Open Women’s Prediction: Aryna Sabalenka beats Elena Rybakina in final.
*Odds subject to change – prices accurate at the time of writing*
