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The Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid on Monday night produced some of the most talked-about tennis moments of the week, and it had nothing to do with the awards themselves.

With the 2026 French Open running from May 18 to June 7 rapidly approaching, all eyes were on Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, both of whom are carrying injuries and both of whom gave very different answers when asked about their Roland Garros prospects. One was cautiously optimistic. The other was considerably more guarded.

French Open 2026: Novak Djokovic targets Roland Garros despite difficult season

Novak Djokovic was the more upbeat of the two, speaking in fluent Spanish when asked about his timeline for return. "I hope so. I'm working to get to Rome at least, but I can't make a prediction now because it depends on how the injury progresses. At least for Roland Garros, I'm ready," Novak Djokovic said.

It was a measured but encouraging update from a player who has had a deeply frustrating 2026 season so far. Currently ranked fourth in the world with a singles record of 7-2 and no titles, Novak Djokocvic made a finals run at the Australian Open before an early exit at Indian Wells and has since withdrawn from tournaments one after another.

The target of getting to Rome, the Italian Open, which serves as the primary clay court warm-up to Roland Garros, is a realistic and sensible one if Novak Djokovic's recovery continues to track in the right direction.

French Open 2026: Carlos Alcaraz takes a more cautious approach

Carlos Alcaraz was noticeably more careful in his language and the contrast with Novak Djokovic's relative optimism was striking. "We have a very long race ahead, many years to go, forcing myself to play this Roland-Garros could hurt me a lot for the future," he said when discussing his wrist injury.

It is the kind of statement that suggests the current world number two is genuinely weighing up the risk of rushing back for a tournament he has significant points to defend, having beaten Jannik Sinner in what was widely described as an all-time classic final at Roland Garros last year.

He has since lost the world number one ranking to Sinner following the Monte-Carlo Masters and withdrew from the Barcelona Open with the wrist issue, and has been seen wearing a brace on his right hand.

The decision around Roland Garros is clearly not straightforward, if Carlos Alcaraz misses the tournament he loses 2,000 ATP ranking points, a figure that would significantly impact his position behind Sinner. But Carlos Alcaraz's words suggest he is not willing to make a decision that could compromise his long-term future for the sake of one tournament, however important.

Also READ: Carlos Alcaraz, Lando Norris, Aryna Sabalenka won major Laureus World Sports Awards 2026

French Open: What it means for Roland Garros 2026

The French Open is already shaping up to be one of the most fascinating Grand Slams in years regardless of whether both men, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokocvic, play. Jannik Sinner has established himself as the clear world number one and defending on clay is a different challenge entirely from the hard court success he has built his recent dominance on.

If Carlos Alcaraz is absent Roland Garros loses its most compelling threat to the Italian's supremacy and its defending champion in the same blow. If Novak Djokovic returns and finds his best clay court form, the tournament could still produce the kind of drama the sport's biggest events are built on. More updates are expected from both camps in the coming days as the clay court season builds toward Paris.