John McEnroe has weighed in on Novak Djokovic’s chances of winning a 25th Grand Slam title in light of Carlos Alcaraz’s injury blow.

World No 2 Alcaraz has been forced to miss the ongoing French Open due to a right wrist injury, while he has also withdrawn from the 2026 Wimbledon Championships.

The 23-year-old Spanish star won the 2026 Australian Open — his maiden crown at the Melbourne major and seventh Grand Slam overall.

Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in four sets in the championship match at Melbourne Park after the latter overcame Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

Djokovic, who turned 39 last week, is bidding to become the oldest player in tennis history to secure a major singles title. The Serbian won his 24th and most recent Slam at the 2023 US Open.

French Open News

John McEnroe reveals ‘the best chance’ of Jannik Sinner losing at the French Open

Jannik Sinner has advice for Carlos Alcaraz about his wrist injury

Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.

Speaking on a TNT Sports media call attended by Tennis365, which took place before the French Open draw, McEnroe addressed how Alcaraz’s absence could impact Djokovic and other players.

“If he (Djokovic) doesn’t have to play Sinner to get to the finals — and by the way, he beat him in Australia; that’s one of the best matches he’s ever played in his life, to be honest, to be able to pull that off — you’d have to say, when it looked even bleaker that he’d win another one, the door’s opened up, obviously, more for him,” said the seven-time major singles champion.

“As well as [Alexander] Zverev, for example, and others that have been struggling. Felix [Auger-Aliassime] is the 4 seed; he hasn’t been lighting it up. Ben [Shelton]’s seeded five.

“[Daniil] Medvedev on clay… yeah, he had a pretty good run in Rome. [Alex] de Minaur hasn’t been winning matches… you talk about wide open, in a way, other than the obvious guy, Sinner. To me, ultimately, it’s Sinner against the field; I take Sinner, right now.

“It’s a horrible loss for tennis that Carlos isn’t playing. A total bummer. Obviously, it sucks, is the bottom line.

“But it does open the door for a bunch of other guys to make runs they weren’t ever going to potentially make.”

READ NEXT: Felix Auger-Aliassime hits new milestone in Live ATP Rankings as Novak Djokovic faces big drop