Roland Garros eSeries by Renault 2026 contenders revealed - who’ll be crowned champion?

The Roland-Garros eSeries by Renault 2026 finals are almost upon us, pitting eight of the world’s best Tennis Clash players in a marathon, two-day Tennis Clash showdown that promises to be the most exciting edition of the competition so far.

This year’s final, the ninth edition in the prestigious eSeries, broke all previous records with a total of 561,000 players, from 221 countries participating in the qualifying stages.

Those stages are now wrapped up, and the eight finalists have been announced. But who’ll be crowned champion? As a bit of fun, we’ve donned our betting caps and picked the players you should watch out for when the finals air on May 23rd.

The Dark Horse - Hizir “Hizir” Balkanci

Now entering his third Roland Garros eSeries by Renault tournament, Hizir “Hizir” Balkanci (TUR) is an established veteran of Court Philippe Chatrier and a dark horse for this year’s title.

He made his first appearance at the finals in 2024 having won the "Grand Tour" qualifier and reached the final stage again in 2025, where he lost out on a semi-final spot to Eugen Mosdir “AreidY” (GER). This year, Hizir has shown fine form once again by finishing runner-up in the first Grand Tour.

Odds: 10/1

Main Challenger - Alessandro Bianco “ΔLEX”

After a remarkable eSeries debut in 2024 which saw him defeat William 'Fozzy' Foster  (GB) and Shenghao "Kafe" He (CHN) to become champion, there were high expectations that Alessandro Bianco “ΔLEX” (ITA) would repeat his success at the 2025 tournament.

Unfortunately for Alessandro it wasn’t meant to be. Perhaps it was the pressure of entering the tournament as champion but, for whatever reason, he couldn’t find his rhythm and was easily brushed aside by eventual finalists Eugen Mosdir “AreidY” and Sanin Ortiz “Sasmis” (COL).

However, he has shown fine form recently, earning his place at the finals by winning Qualifying Round #2. If he can recapture the composed play and strong hitting during his 2024 triumph then he’ll be tough to beat.

Odds: 3/1

The favourite - Sanin Ortiz “Sasmis”

As the defending champion, Sanin Ortiz “Sasmis” enters as the favourite to claim the 2026 title. Little was known about the Colombian native before entering last year’s tournament, and few expected him to show the dominating form that took him to a 3 sets to 1 victory over Eugen Mosdir “AreidY” in the grand final.

Sasmis is a strong front-runner who builds near-unstoppable momentum when he finds his stride. If he can recapture that same “near-perfect” form this year, then it will take a herculean effort to keep him from being crowned champion once again.

Odds: 2/1

You can see who’ll be crowned champion, as well as view some top-notch eTennis, by tuning into the Roland-Garros eSeries by Renault 2026 Finals live via the official Roland-Garros YouTube channel, on May 23rd from 11 a.m to 2 p.m (CEST).