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The clay-court season arrives in Rome this week for the 2025 Italian Open, one of the final ATP Masters 1000 events before the French Open. The men’s main draw begins tomorrow, May 7, and features a compelling mix of Grand Slam champions, rising stars, and clay-court specialists. With Rafael Nadal missing the event and Roland Garros just around the corner, this tournament could give us the clearest look yet at who’s peaking in time for Paris.
Let’s break down what to expect from the ATP field in Rome — and who could walk away with the trophy.
Carlos Alcaraz headlines the field after missing both Monte Carlo and Madrid due to a right forearm injury. The 21-year-old Spaniard is still short on clay-court reps this season, but his upside remains enormous. A former semifinalist in Rome, Alcaraz brings a combination of flair and power that plays well on the Foro Italico’s slow red clay. While his health may still be a concern, a strong showing this week would quickly reestablish him as a top favorite for Roland Garros.
Jannik Sinner, the newly minted No. 1 seed, returns to action in front of a home crowd with major expectations. After a red-hot start to 2025 that included his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, Sinner was hit with a three-month doping suspension for a violation stemming from contaminated supplements. That suspension officially ended on Sunday, and the Italian Open marks his return to competition.
Sinner has never advanced past the quarterfinals in Rome, but this could be the year he breaks through. He’s playing the most confident and composed tennis of his career, and the crowd in Rome will be firmly behind him every step of the way. With Alcaraz lacking match play and no clear frontrunner emerging this clay season, Sinner enters with both the motivation and momentum to capture his first Masters 1000 title on clay.
Beyond the headliners, there’s a strong group of clay-court specialists ready to contend. Casper Ruud enters the tournament with serious momentum after winning the Madrid Open — his biggest career title to date. The Norwegian has also made two French Open finals and thrives on slower surfaces with his heavy topspin and rock-solid baseline game. He’s yet to win a Masters 1000 on clay, but Rome could finally be the breakthrough.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is another name to watch closely. A finalist in Rome in 2022, Tsitsipas has started to find his form again this spring. He made the Monte Carlo final and showed flashes of brilliance in Madrid before a tight loss to Alcaraz. The Greek’s ability to generate power off his forehand and attack short balls makes him a dangerous threat on this surface.
You can’t overlook the reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev either. The German is one of the most consistent performers on clay and has already reached the Australian Open final this year, falling to Sinner. Zverev’s backhand remains one of the best in the game and his ability to dictate from the baseline can frustrate any opponent in these conditions.
Other dark-horse candidates include Holger Rune, last year’s runner-up in Rome and Andrey Rublev, who has proven he can hit through heavy clay when his timing is on.
It’s a wide-open field in Rome, with many top players facing fitness concerns or inconsistent form. But based on his level of play earlier this season, his motivation after returning from suspension, and the chance to win on home soil, Jannik Sinner looks poised to make a deep run.
If his body holds up, Sinner has the perfect balance of baseline aggression, consistency and tactical awareness to succeed on clay. He’s already taken down Zverev in 2025 and has all the tools to finish the job in Rome in his first tournament since the suspension.
Luke Lindholm is an avid basketball, baseball, football, hockey and soccer fan who specializes in writing promotional content for multiple sportsbooks and prediction-based articles across a variety of sports. His work has been featured on prominent websites including Sports Illustrated, Pickswise, Men’s Journal, TheStreet, Athlon Sports and more. He started as a college football handicapper for Pickswise in 2016 and is a current member of the Pickswise NFL handicapping team.