Round of 16: French-American friendship
Sixteen players in singles, twelve teams in doubles and a highly anticipated wheelchair tennis draw: discover the full schedule for Thursday 5 November 2026.
A wave of surprises swept through the Plenitude Arena on Wednesday, with the successive eliminations of new World No.1 Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev (No.4 seed), Alex de Minaur (No.8) and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic (No.10). The players who fought hard to secure their places in the Round of 16 have been warned: anything can happen at this anniversary edition of the Rolex Paris Masters.
French and American stars take centre stage
Describing himself as a “miracle survivor” after saving four match points in the decisive tie-break against Frances Tiafoe, Quentin Halys will once again have the honour of opening play on centre court at 11:00. The Frenchman will face Tommy Paul (No.12) for the first time in his career, and the Americain still dreaming of a place at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The action will continue with another Franco-American showdown as Arthur Rinderknech takes on Ben Shelton (No.3). The pair have met only once before, at Queen’s in 2025, when the Lucas Pouille's protégé prevailed. A good omen?
The French flavour of the daytime session continues with Luca Van Assche, who impressed in his straight-sets victory over Learner Tien. To keep his run alive, he will need to overcome Lorenzo Musetti, who produced some exceptional tennis to topple the World No.1. The Italian also happens to be the recent champion in Lyon, where he defeated none other than Luca Van Assche in the quarter-finals.
The evening session, beginning not before 7pm, opens with an enticing clash between Carlos Alcaraz (No.2) and Matteo Berrettini.
The Spaniard, who safely negotiated his opening match against Alex Michelsen and has not faced th Italian in three years, remains convinced that a breakthrough run in Paris is only a matter of time. Could 2026 finally be the year?
The final France versus USA battle of the day will feature a rematch of the recent Basel quarter-final between Arthur Fils (No.6) and Taylor Fritz (No.11). Already qualified for the ATP Finals, the French No.1 will be determined to shine in front of his home crowd against an opponent who would not mind joining him in Turin a few days later.
Singles and doubles everywhere on courts 1 and 2
The remaining three men's singles Round of 16 matches will take place on court 1, which has been buzzing throughout the week, in the following order:
Rinky Hijikata vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (not before 2pm)
Nuno Borges vs Ignacio Buse
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Casper Ruud
The doubles competition also gets underway from 11am. While the French players competing across both draws are scheduled later in the day, the teams of Arribagé/Olivetti and Luz/Matos will take to the courts earlier in the programme.
Finally, Thursday will also mark the beginning of the wheelchair tennis event, with the draw ceremony taking place in the Plenitude Arena media centre at 15:00.
➡️ Doubles draw