Scouting Report: Sinner returns, Alcaraz seeks glory in Rome

The final clay-court ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia is set to begin in Rome. The world's best players continue their buildup to Roland Garros with 1,000 PIF ATP Rankings points at stake in the Italian capital.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner returns to action, while Carlos Alcaraz, Madrid champion Casper Ruud and two-time Rome winner Alexander Zverev will also try to secure glory. ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch at the tournament.

1) Sinner’s return: The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is set to compete for the first time since the Australian Open after completing a three-month period of ineligibility in a case resolution agreement with WADA. The Italian, who won the season’s first major, will try to immediately find his rhythm at a tournament where he has never advanced past the quarter-finals. Only one of the 23-year-old’s 19 tour-level titles has come on clay (2022 Umag). He will face Federico Cina or Mariano Navone in the second round.

2) Alcaraz back from injury: The Spaniard had found his top level, claiming his first Monte-Carlo crown and then reaching the final on home soil in Barcelona, before he missed the Madrid Masters 1000 event due to an adductor injury. Alcaraz will try to maintain his game at the Foro Italico, where he has only competed once before, in 2023. In that edition, he lost in the third round to Fabian Marozsan. The third seed will take on Yoshihito Nishioka or Jan-Lennard Struff in his opener.

3) Zverev defending champion: The seven-time ATP Masters 1000 champion Zverev has earned two of his seven titles at the level in Rome. Last year, the German lost just one set en route to the trophy. The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings just won his first title of the season in Munich and will try to add another at the Foro Italico, beginning with his opening match against Camilo Ugo Carabelli or a qualifier.

4) Musetti on the Move: One of the breakthrough stars of the 2025 season has been Lorenzo Musetti. As far as the Italians go, all eyes have been on Sinner in the past couple years. But Musetti this year has shown he too is among the very best players in the world. The 23-year-old today cracked the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time, becoming just the sixth Italian since the inception of the rankings in 1973 to do so. He made his first Masters 1000 final last month in Monte-Carlo and will try to improve on his best performance in Rome, having made the Round of 16 in the Italian capital twice.

5) Ruud on a roll: Casper Ruud will be as confident as ever, entering the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on the back of his first Masters 1000 triumph in Madrid. The Norwegian has long excelled on clay, winning 12 of his 13 tour-level titles on the surface and reaching the Roland Garros final twice. He is a three-time semi-finalist in Rome.

6) Draper dialed in: One of the most improved players of the year has been Jack Draper. The British lefty claimed his maiden Masters 1000 crown at Indian Wells and made another final in Madrid, where he pushed Ruud to three sets in a hard-fought final. With his efforts, Draper is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, putting himself in great early position to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. He made his debut in Rome last year, falling to former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

7) Medvedev’s Clay Haven: Daniil Medvedev has made it no secret that clay is not his favourite surface. That did not prevent him from claiming glory in Rome two years ago, though. He owns an 8-4 record at the tournament, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and will try to improve it against Christopher O'Connell or a qualifier in the second round. 

8) #NextGenATP stars to watch: #NextGenATP players have made their mark throughout the year, with Jakub Mensik lifting the trophy in Miami, Joao Fonseca earning his first ATP Tour title in Buenos Aires and plenty more. Both men will be in action in Rome, as will 19-year-old lefty Learner Tien and rising Italian Cina. The 18-year-old home favourite made his tour-level debut in Miami, where he ousted Francisco Comesana before falling to Grigor Dimitrov. Fonseca could face the man he defeated at the Australian Open, Andrey Rublev, in the second round.

9) Italian wild cards: Before qualifying is completed, there are 13 Italians in the main draw, including the tournament's five wild cards: Cina, Fabio Fognini, Matteo Gigante, Luca Nardi and Francesco Passaro. Former World No. 9 Fognini made the Rome quarter-finals in 2019 and has played in the main draw or qualifying in the Italian capital 18 times. His first appearance was in 2006, nearly a year before Cina was born.

10) Bolelli/Vavassori home doubles hopes: The top Italian doubles pair is Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori. Will they find a way to triumph on home soil? Last year, when they competed together in Rome for the first time, the Italians reached the semi-finals. The defending champions are Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who are fresh off a victory at the Mutua Madrid Open.