The chaos at the 2026 French Open did not stop on Thursday, with a shocking number of French Open upsets.
Just one day after several top women’s seeds crashed out of Roland Garros, including shocking losses by Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina, the men’s draw completely unraveled as Jannik Sinner, Ben Shelton, and Stefanos Tsitsipas were all eliminated during a stunning day in Paris.
The brutal Paris heat played a major role in Thursday’s carnage.
The men’s draw featured eight five-set matches, turning Roland Garros into a physical survival test as players battled exhaustion, momentum swings, and cramping throughout the day.
Several favorites visibly faded late in matches, including Sinner, whose shocking collapse came after appearing fully in control just one hour earlier.
With so many players spending four and five exhausting hours on court, recovery could become one of the biggest storylines heading into the second week.
Read on for Thursday’s French Open upsets.
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Sinner’s collapse was one of the biggest French Open upsets of them all.
The world No. 1 appeared to be cruising into the third round before everything suddenly unraveled against Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
Sinner led 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 and looked fully in control before his energy level dropped dramatically late in the third set. Cerundolo stormed back to win 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 in one of the biggest collapses of the 2026 season.
The shocking defeat ended Sinner’s 30-match winning streak and completely opened the top half of the Roland Garros draw.
The carnage continued later in the day when Belgium’s Raphael Collignon stunned fifth-seeded Shelton in straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Shelton entered the tournament as one of the most dangerous young players in the field after a strong clay season, but Collignon controlled the match from the baseline and never allowed the American to establish momentum.
The French Open upsets continued when Matteo Arnaldi knocked off Tsitsipas to leave another major section of the draw wide open heading toward the second week.
One of the stories of the day also belonged to French teenager Moise Kouame, who thrilled the home crowd with a dramatic five-set victory over Adolfo Daniel Vallejo to continue one of the biggest surprise runs of the tournament so far.
The 18-year-old wildcard survived 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 10-8 and will next face Alejandro Tabilo in the third round.
Suddenly, players who looked buried in loaded sections of the draw are staring at massive opportunities.
With Sinner, Shelton, and Tsitsipas all eliminated, one of Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Arnaldi, Raphael Collignon, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Jaime Faria, or Matteo Berrettini is now guaranteed to reach the French Open semifinals.
Tiafoe survived a physically draining five-set battle against Hubert Hurkacz and now finds himself with a realistic path toward the semifinals.
Berrettini also advanced after surviving Arthur Rinderknech in another difficult battle, while Brandon Nakashima moved through after outlasting Luca Van Assche in five sets. Nakashima will next face Felix Auger-Aliassime in one of the tournament’s most intriguing third-round matchups.
Elsewhere, Francisco Cerundolo continued his strong clay-court form, Flavio Cobolli rolled into the next round, and Learner Tien survived another difficult five-set battle to keep his breakthrough run alive.
With top seeds falling daily, marathon matches piling up, and entire sections of the draw suddenly blown open, Roland Garros has transformed into complete chaos.
And with brutal heat expected to continue through the weekend, the physical toll from Thursday’s carnage may only be beginning.
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Phil Naessens is a tennis betting analyst and former tennis coach with decades of experience in player development and match analysis. He is the founder of Crush Rush News and host of the Crush & Rush Tennis Podcast, focusing on price-first betting strategy, market efficiency, and transparency in sports wagering.
