Alexander Zverev suddenly heavy French Open favorite

Alexander Zverev is widely viewed as the best active player yet to win a Grand Slam event, but the German is suddenly favored to remove his name from that list following the early exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic at the French Open.

Zverev, 29, had the second-shortest odds at most sportsbooks to begin the tournament, but he was still a longshot compared to Sinner, who was the -325 pre-tournament favorite at BetMGM and -340 at DraftKings. Zverev was offered at +900 and +1100, respectively, just head of Djokovic at +1100 at both books.

However, Sinner was dispatched in the second round after struggling with the heat wave in Paris this week. Djokovic followed with a third-round loss on Friday.

Suddenly, and quite shockingly, that thrust Zverev into the heavy favorite status. The 2024 French Open finalist is being offered at +135 by BetMGM and +120 by DraftKings. The former has Casper Ruud at +550 ahead of rising Spanish star Rafael Jodar (+600) and Brazil's Joao Fonseca (+800), who upset Djokovic.

DraftKings is offering Jodar with the second-shortest odds at +550, followed by Ruud (+600) and Fonseca (+750).

There are no players remaining in the men's draw who have won a Grand Slam event.

The top remaining American is Frances Tiafoe, who is a +3300 longshot at BetMGM and +3500 at DraftKings.

With Spain's Carlos Alcaraz unable to defend his title due to a wrist injury, this year's French Open will feature the first Grand Slam champion other than Alcaraz, Sinner or Djokovic since Rafael Nadal won the 2022 French Open.

--Field Level Media

Copyright 2026 Field Level Media. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:07 PM.