Paris Masters Draw Takes Centre Stage as Zverev Leads Field Without Sinner

The road to the season's final Masters 1000 title will be mapped on Friday evening when the Rolex Paris Masters holds its draw ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Paris time. New world No. 1 Alexander Zverev heads the field as top seed, with Carlos Alcaraz second, after Zverev sealed top spot with his run to the Vienna quarter-finals. Defending champion Jannik Sinner will not be there to defend his crown, having been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, so Paris will crown a new champion on November 8. Novak Djokovic will also be in the draw, and the tournament is his last chance to rescue a place at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he sits 11th in the race and needs at least a semi-final in Paris to stay alive. The 56-player draw at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre features eight French wildcards and hopefuls, led by Ugo Humbert, Arthur Fils and Titouan Droguet, while qualifying takes place over the weekend before the main draw begins on Monday. With five main-draw spots at the Finals still up for grabs and as many as ten players in contention, the draw ceremony matters far beyond seedings — it will decide whether Djokovic, Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul get a kind path or a nightmare route to Turin.