The defending champion won't be there. Jannik Sinner, who beat Félix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6 in last year's final, ended his season on 6 October to treat inflammation in his right knee, so the Paris Masters 2026 starts with the trophy up for grabs and five places at the ATP Finals still unclaimed.
It's the second year at La Défense Arena in Nanterre, west of the city, after the tournament left its old home at the Accor Arena in Bercy. The building now carries the Plénitude Arena name. It is also a week later than usual: qualifying starts on Saturday 31 October and the final is on Sunday 8 November.
What's on and when
Paris is a 56-player draw, so the top eight seeds get a bye into the second round. The provisional order of play looks like this (all times Paris, CET):
| Day | Rounds | Start |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 31 Oct and Sun 1 Nov | Qualifying | Doors 10:30 |
| Mon 2 Nov | First round | 11:00, evening not before 19:00 |
| Tue 3 Nov | First and second round | 11:00, evening not before 19:00 |
| Wed 4 Nov | Second round | 11:00, evening not before 19:00 |
| Thu 5 Nov | Round of 16 | 11:00, evening not before 19:00 |
| Fri 6 Nov | Quarter-finals | 14:00, evening not before 19:00 |
| Sat 7 Nov | Semi-finals | 14:30 and not before 17:00 |
| Sun 8 Nov | Final | 15:00 |
For UK viewers everything is an hour earlier, so the final starts at 14:00 GMT. That's 9am ET and 6am PT in the US (the clocks will have gone back there by then), 7:30pm in India and 1am on Monday in Sydney. Evening sessions start no earlier than 6pm in the UK and 1pm ET.
How to watch the Paris Masters 2026
In France, France Télévisions has it free-to-air: france.tv streams the best match each day with highlights from the others, France 4 shows a semi-final, and the final goes out on France 3 and france.tv. Tennis TV, the ATP's own streaming service, carries every match in most countries on a subscription.
Elsewhere I'd check before you settle in. Sky Sports (UK) and Tennis Channel (US) have held ATP Tour rights in recent seasons, and beIN Sports showed the tournament in Australia last year, but the 2026 listings are worth confirming locally.
The other option is free. DAMITV will carry the action on our tennis streams page in HD with no sign-up, and Spanish speakers can use the tenis en vivo hub.
The names to follow
The projected seeds, based on the rankings of 19 October, are below. The final list uses the rankings of 26 October, so expect some shuffling.
- Alexander Zverev
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Ben Shelton
- Daniil Medvedev
- Flavio Cobolli
- Félix Auger-Aliassime
- Alex de Minaur
- Frances Tiafoe
Seeds nine to 16 are projected as Arthur Fils, Rafael Jódar, Novak Djokovic, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Jakub Menšík and Brandon Nakashima. João Fonseca has withdrawn, and Holger Rune is in on a protected ranking.
Zverev arrives as the Race to Turin leader by a distance, with 9,150 points, and he qualified for the ATP Finals back in August. Alcaraz (4,600) and Shelton (4,480) are also through, Shelton having sealed his place after Shanghai.
Behind them it gets tight. Cobolli has 3,540 points, Medvedev 3,420, Tiafoe 3,380, Fils 3,325 and Jódar 3,159, with de Minaur on 2,880. With Sinner out of Turin as well, that's five spots for six or seven realistic contenders, and a run to the Paris final is worth 600 points, a title 1,000.
Fils is the one the crowd will want. He's French, he's back in the top 10, and he's sitting seventh in the Race. Auger-Aliassime reached the final here last year and will know the courts better than most.
Picks
The Race tells you Zverev has been the most consistent player of the year. Indoors and late in the season, though, I'd still pick Alcaraz to win it. The draw is weaker without Sinner, and to my eye Alcaraz is the best player left in it.
For a longer shot, Fils. Home crowds in Paris can carry a player through a tight third set, and with a Turin place in play he has more to chase than anyone. I'd also keep an eye on Medvedev, who has just climbed back into the top five.
The tournament's official site publishes the draw and the daily order of play for the Paris Masters 2026, and we'll have every session on the DAMITV tennis page.
