The French Open 2026 is just around the corner and the tennis rankings are going to have a very different look for some star names compared to 12 months ago by the time the final ball is struck at Roland Garros.
With defending champion Carlos Alcaraz out of the second Grand Slam of the year with a wrist injury, his ranking is set to collapse as he has 1,000 points dropping off his record after the Italian Open and another 2,000 will be wiped off his record after the major in Paris.
Alcaraz is not the only player facing a rankings collapse and here is your Tennis365 to four big names facing a major drop after they failed to defend their ranking points from 2025.
More Tennis News
Alexander Zverev finds new tactic to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner labels Alcaraz injury ‘unlucky’ as he reflects on stunning winning run
Carlos Alcaraz
Status: Clay court season ruined by wrist injury
Alcaraz won the Italian Open and the French Open last year, defeating Jannik Sinner in the final of both tournaments, but a wrist injury has left him on the sidelines for those two tournaments in 2026.
The Spaniard moved on to 8,850 ranking points after he won the title in Rome and that fired him up to No 2 in the ATP Rankings.
With the 3,000 ranking points dropping off his total after he missed the Rome and Paris tournaments this year, Alcaraz’s ranking total will drop below 10,000 after the French Open, but his status as world No 2 will not be threatened any time soon.
Jasmine Paolini
Status: Defending champion dumped out of the Italian Open
Paolini enjoyed a stunning couple of years as she became a fixture in the top 10 of the women’s game, but the wheels have fallen off for the diminutive Italian this season.
The 1,000 ranking points she had to defend from her memorable win at the Italian Open last year have dropped off her record and her defeat in the last 32 of this year’s event in Rome will see her slide out of the top 10 next week.
She was the No 4 seed at Roland Garros last year and will defend 240 points in that event, so another rankings slide will be inevitable if her poor form is not halted.
Emma Raducanu
Status: Facing an uncertain future amid illness concerns
The British No 1 has lived through a bizarre 2026 season that has been dominated by what has been described as ‘the ongoing effects of a virus’ she picked up in Romania in February.
Raducanu was expected to play at the Italian Open this week and told the media she was relishing her chance to make a return to the WTA Tour, but then promptly pulled out of the tournament a half an hour after making those comments, citing an illness issue.
That chain of events sparked plenty of speculation about what might be going on in Raducanu’s world, especially after she suggested she had rediscovered her motivation in the interviews she conducted in Rome.
There are suggestions that Raducanu wants a wild card for the WTA event in Strasbourg next week, but it may be risky for tournament directors, given her recent record of pulling out of events.
Raducanu will drop out of the top 32 of the rankings after her withdrawal in Rome and will not be seeded for Grand Slams, if she is fit enough to play at the French Open or Wimbledon.
Jack Draper
Status: Out of the French Open due to injury
The Brit was a fixture in the top four of the ATP Rankings a year ago after his first ATP 1000 title in Indian Wells was backed up with a run to the Madrid Open final.
With his French Open ambitions already ended by injury, Draper is set to drop out of the top 100 of the rankings by the end of the French Open.
He will be able to use a protected ranking to get into top tier tournaments, but it will be a long way back for the Brit now.
READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz receives positive prediction on when he might return to tennis