The seedings for the Paris Masters 1000 are now known
We analyze who the 16 seeded players will be at the last Masters 1000 of the year and what potential matchups may arise round by round based on their seeding.
The ATP Masters 1000 Paris 2026 is just around the corner, and potential matchups between favorites can already be determined round by round. From November 2 to 8, a tournament will take place in the almost extinct Masters 1000 format, with 56 players and lasting less than a week. What is the seeding order? Depending on that, Carlos Alcaraz and the other favorites may have different matchups.
Nostalgia fans will be pleased. Paris hosts the last Masters 1000 of the year under great anticipation for everything at stake and the feeling that, nowadays, experiencing a tournament of this category that takes place in a week with a reduced draw is a golden opportunity to take us back to times many long for, as they are not big fans of the two-week Masters 1000.
A draw of 56 players with bye for the top 8
There are spots to be filled for the ATP Finals 2026, and players like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Jódar are heavily involved in the fight. Additionally, Alexander Zverev will want to debut his number 1 ranking with a title, and Carlos Alcaraz aims to improve his performance on indoor courts. Many questions need to be resolved in this very special tournament.
Held at the new venue in Nanterre since last year, at the Defense Arena, the Paris tournament will gather the best in the world for the last tournament of the regular season, with a draw of 64 spots and 56 players, meaning the top 8 seeds will be exempt from competing in the first round.
It is the ATP ranking as of October 26 that determines which players enjoy seeding status, being crucial the order in which they arrive at the ATP Masters 1000 Paris 2026 as it sets potential matchups for the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final.
The draw for the final bracket of the ATP Masters 1000 Paris 2026 will take place this Friday, October 30, at 19:00h. It will be there that we learn the placement of the players in a draw that looks thrilling and in which we already know that Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz could only meet in a hypothetical final.
| ROUND | SEED | POSSIBLE OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|
| Round of 16 | 1 to 4 | 13 to 16 |
| Round of 16 | 5 to 8 | 9 to 12 |
| Quarter-finals | 1 to 4 | 5 to 8 |
All seeds will debut against an unseeded opponent, occurring the first matchups between them in the round of 16. With only 16 seeds, the tournament's demands will be maximum for all from their debut, with players like Lehecka, Khachanov, Ruud, or Musetti, who could be the first opponents of any of the top players, left out of this privileged group.
Seeding order in the Paris 2026 Masters 1000
- Alexander Zverev
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Ben Shelton
- Daniil Medvedev
- Flavio Cobolli
- Félix Auger-Aliassime* (doubt)
- Arthur Fils
- Frances Tiafoe
- Álex de Miñaur
- Rafael Jódar
- Novak Djokovic
- Taylor Fritz
- Tommy Paul
- Alejandro Davidovich
- Jakub Mensik
- Brandon Nakashima
*If Auger-Aliassime withdraws, Learner Tien would enter as the 16th seed
Looking at the possible matchups that would occur in the round of 16, it is striking to see the enormous complexity it would have for any of the top four to face Paul, Davidovich, Mensik, and Nakashima. They are the ones who could potentially face Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, and Medvedev in that round.
Considering the race for the ATP Finals, it is a clear indicator of the tension that will be felt to see that De Miñaur, Jódar, Djokovic, and Fritz would be compelled to face players against whom they might be battling directly for a ticket to Turin, such as Cobolli, Fils, or Tiafoe, with those direct matchups being crucial to discern who achieves their goal. Whoever emerges victorious from those matchups would face one of the top four on the list in the quarter-finals, potentially setting up an Alcaraz vs. Jódar match in the penultimate round, if fate dictates so.
In conclusion, the draw for the final bracket of the ATP Masters 1000 Paris 2026 could be decisive and yield truly powerful matchups between seeds starting from the round of 16. It will be very interesting to analyze the path of Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz, the top favorites for the title, but also that of others like Novak Djokovic and Rafael Jódar.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Ya se conoce el orden de cabezas de serie para el Masters 1000 de París