Alcaraz and Djokovic Address French Open Status Amid Uncertainty

On Monday night, tennis fans were treated to dazzling photos and videos of the world's top players at the Laureus World Sports Awards. The annual event took place in Madrid, Spain. While there is plenty to unpack — from fashion to the actual awards — the biggest headlines were updates on Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

Both Alcaraz and Djokovic are injured and uncertain to play in the 2026 French Open. Luckily, Djokovic offered an optimistic outlook on his chances of playing the event. Meanwhile, Alcaraz took a far more cautious approach when discussing his future. Below is a video clip and breakdown of each of their remarks made in Spanish.

Novak Djokovic will be ready for the French Open

🙌 Novak Djokovic says he is working towards returning for Rome, but is ready to enter Roland-Garros without preparation

Depends on his injury recovery pic.twitter.com/phbpQdqzzO
— Olly Tennis 🎾 🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) April 20, 2026

When asked in Spanish if he would be ready for Rome, Djokovic responded in fluent Spanish, "I hope so. I'm working to get to Rome at least, but I can't make a prediction now because it depends on how the injury progresses. At least for Roland Garros, I'm ready."

Despite missing most of the year, Djokovic is still the ATP World No. 4 with a singles record of 7-2 and zero titles. He made a finals run at the Australian Open, followed by an early exit at Indian Wells. Since then, Djokovic has dropped out of each and every tournament one by one.

Carlos Alcaraz doesn't want to jeopardize his future

👇🙏🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz says he won’t force playing Roland-Garros if it hurts his career:

"We have a very long race ahead, many years to go, forcing myself to play this Roland-Garros could hurt me a lot for the future.” pic.twitter.com/887zL7Aeop
— Olly Tennis 🎾 🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) April 20, 2026

When discussing his health and chances of playing in this year's edition of the French Open, Alcaraz said, "We have a very long race ahead, many years to go, forcing myself to play this Roland-Garros could hurt me a lot for the future."

Currently, Alcaraz is the ATP World No. 2 with a singles record of 22-3 with two singles titles. After losing the ATP World No. 1 spot to Jannik Sinner after the Monte-Carlo Masters, Alcaraz had to withdraw from the Barcelona Open due to his wrist injury. He has since begun wearing a brace on his right wrist.

The French Open runs from May 18 to June 7. The clay court Major is the second Grand Slam event of the year. Last year, Alcaraz defeated Sinner in all-time classic match. If Alcaraz is unable to play at Roland Garros, he will lose 2,000 ATP Rankings points.

Fans can expect more news in the coming days. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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