All the big-name players remain on the entry list for the 2026 edition of the clay-court event, but there are doubts over whether the current three biggest names on the ATP Tour will play.
Sinner is set to be top seed after he reclaimed the No 1 spot in the ATP Rankings from Alcaraz on the back of his Monte Carlo Masters title run.
But he admitted after the tournament that he remains undecided about playing in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital, telling Italian media: “I’ll take two or three days off, then I’ll evaluate with my team whether to go to Madrid or not.”
Nearly a week later and the four-time Grand Slam winner is yet to decide if he will play.
Then there is Alcaraz – who won the tournament in 2022 and 2023 – who has been sidelined by a forearm injury.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner returned to action at the Barcelona Open just two days after losing the Monte Carlo final against Sinner and he started with a two-set win over Otto Virtanen.
But he picked up an arm injury during the match and was forced to withdraw from the tournament the following day.
Alcaraz’s team are yet to confirm the full extent of the injury and whether or not they will risk playing in Madrid with bigger challenges coming up, as he is the defending champion at the Italian Open and French Open.
The top two players in the world also missed the 2025 Madrid Open and organisers will be keen to avoid a similar situation. If both Alcaraz and Sinner are absent, then world No 3 Alexander Zverev will be the top seed again, as was the case in 2025.
Then there is Novak Djokovic.
The three-time Madrid Open champion continues to play a reduced schedule as so far this year, he has competed at only two tournaments, the Australian Open where he finished runner-up to Alcaraz and the Indian Wells Open where he was beaten in the round of 16 by Jack Draper.
Having skipped the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters, he looked set to return to action in Madrid as he has been seen practising on the clay courts of Marbella.
But he then threw organisers another curveball when asked about the event while attending a Euroleague basketball game between Real Madrid and Red Star.
“I hope to compete in Madrid – I’m working toward that, but I’m not sure. I have been struggling physically a bit with an injury. I’m trying to address it and play as long as I can.”
Last year Djokovic played only one of the three Masters 1000 events on clay before the French Open, and that was also the Madrid Open where he lost in the second round against Matteo Arnaldi.
He then signed up for the Geneva Open and went on to win the ATP 250 tournament as he lifted his 100th ATP Tour singles title.
