French Open 2026: Jannik Sinner’s Paris charge begins as the world No. 1 extends winning streak

Tennis world No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s pursuit of history at Roland-Garros 2026 gathered momentum on Tuesday night (26 May) as the Italian powered through his opening round 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 against French wildcard Clément Tabur in their maiden meeting on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“It has been a very long but very positive period,” he had said ahead of his opening match. “I'm lucky to be in this position. I think it's always better to be in a position where you win and you start to feel tired than you feel very good but you lose a couple of rounds.”

From the opening games, Sinner made sure there would be no upset against the world No. 171. The Italian looked very polished, dropping just one game in the opening set as he stormed to 6-1.

The second set followed a similar pattern. Tabur showed flashes of resistance in front of the home crowd, but Sinner’s level rarely dipped and moved two sets ahead with 6-3.

The Frenchman briefly raised the intensity early in the third. Tabur claimed the opening game, while the second game stretched beyond eight minutes and featured three deuces.

For a moment, the contest tightened. Sinner led 3-2, then 4-3, before moving within touching distance of the finish line at 5-4. Even with the result all but secured, the Italian was forced to work for the close, missing three match points in the final game before finally sealing victory 6-4 on his fifth opportunity.

"First-round matches are never easy," he said in his on-court interview. "I'm very happy to be back here, [it is] a very special place."

Standing next in Sinner’s path to his Career Grand Slam is Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerúndolo.

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Jannik Sinner stays on hot streak

Even by Sinner’s impossibly high standards, today’s win continued a staggeringly consistent run.

The victory over Tabur extended Sinner’s unbeaten run against French players to 28 consecutive matches, while also improving his record against players competing at their home Grand Slam to 19-0.

At Roland-Garros specifically, he is now 7-0 against French opposition.

It also marked the 30th consecutive victory of Sinner’s winning streak, the fifth-longest run of the Open Era. The Italian arrived in Paris after capturing titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

Only a handful of legends have produced similar stretches of dominance. With Tuesday’s victory, Sinner joined Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only men this century to reach 30 consecutive wins on the ATP Tour.

His stronghold on early rounds has become equally routine. Sinner now holds a 21-4 record in Grand Slam opening matches and has not lost in the first round of a major since Wimbledon 2021.

Yet for all his achievements, Roland-Garros still carries unfinished business.

Last year, Sinner became the first Italian man to reach the Roland-Garros final since Adriano Panatta in 1976, only to suffer one of the most painful defeats of his career against Carlos Alcaraz in the longest final in tournament history. Sinner led by two sets and held three championship points before Alcaraz completed a dramatic comeback in a gruelling five-hour-and-29-minute epic.

Now, with Alcaraz struggling with injury concerns that keep him out of Wimbledon as well, the opportunity feels larger than ever for Sinner to finally complete his Career Grand Slam.

After ending Italy’s half-century wait for a men’s singles champion in Rome earlier this month, completing the Golden Masters, Sinner also now has the chance to emulate Panatta by completing the Rome and Roland-Garros double in the same season.

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