Come French Open and one cannot help but think of Rafael Nadal. The aura of the retired Spaniard, who won 14 of his 22 grand slam titles in Paris, hangs over the red clay of Roland Garros reminding each and every title aspirant what heights they need to match up to.
The comparison gets tougher for defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
For starters, he has been long seen as Nadal’s successor, keeping the Spanish flag aloft in the world of tennis. And his success on clay has added to that.
Seeded second, he is definitely a title favourite given his current form on clay. He began the clay season in 2025 winning the Monte-Carlo Masters — a tournament where he had not won a single match in earlier years.
This was his first Masters title in thirteen months, and his sixth overall. The win saw him regain the No.2 ranking.
He lost in the final at the Barcelona Open and had to opt out of Madrid due to an injury to his right adductor. But he recovered to win the Italian Open, where he defeated his closest rival, world No.1 Jannik Sinner, in the final.
Alcaraz is now only the third man to win every modern big title on clay (Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome) after Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Will he be able to win his second French Open title this time around when the tournament begins on Sunday? He will open his campaign against Kei Nishikori and may face two-time runner-up Casper Ruud in the quarters. With Sinner, last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev and three-time champion Novak Djokovic in the other half of the draw, the going may be rather smooth for the Spaniard till the final. He also holds a 15-1 record on clay this season. And in his own words, “It’s been a great clay season so far.”
Sinner, on the other hand, has returned from his three-month doping suspension. He has faced criticism from peers — many of whom believed that he had been let off rather easily — and will be keen to prove his mettle.
He did win the Australian Open before facing the suspension and would now want to triumph in Paris to add to his three grand slam crowns.
The loss in the final at Rome to Alcaraz surely rankles as that was his first tournament on return, that too at home. The French Open would be the perfect opportunity for the Italian to avenge that loss. If he wins, he would also be the first Italian men’s singles champion in Paris since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
While focus will be on the top two seeds, if there is a Djokovic around, the spotlight can never be far from him. The Serb had won only three of his 24 grand slam crowns at the French Open, but even that is higher than the top two seeds put together.
Last time he played at Roland Garros, he won the elusive Olympic gold medal in a thrilling finale on Court Philippe-Chatrier, defeating none other than Alcaraz.
It is true that 2025 has not been kind to the former world No.1. He has not won a title this season and is currently without a coach, having parted ways with Andy Murray.
But, with an eye on a record-extending 25th grand slam title, Djokovic will definitely be a force to reckon with.
Iga’s domain
Iga Swiatek may be ranked fifth in the world right now, but none of the women ranked above her at present have a French Open title to her same.
The Pole, on the other hand, have won four of her five grand slam titles on the red clay courts of Roland Garros. She will be looking to revive her trophyless campaign in pursuit of a fourth consecutive victory in the French capital.
The last woman to achieve that feat was Suzanne Lenglen, after whom a major court is named at Roland Garros. That happened 102 years ago when tournament was known as the French Championships.
Swiatek has had a tough year so far. Even on her favourite surface clay, she has been far from perfect. She failed to defend both her Madrid Open and Italian Open titles and suffered a third-round loss in Rome.
In fact, she has not won a title since the French Open last year.
She may face last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals, followed by the woman who has dethroned her — Aryna Sabalenka.
The world No.1 will reach Paris with three tour-level titles, more than any male or female singles player this year.
However, the 27-year-old has never made it to a Roland-Garros final. This might be the year to change that statistics since she is the in-form player who looks almost unbeatable on the WTA tour at present.
There is also a confident Jasmine Paolini in the fray, who had an emotional home victory at the Italian Open. The Olympic doubles champion is back to No.4 in the world rankings with a 10-2 clay record this season.
The women’s draw looks rather open with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, Mirra Andreeva and second seed Coco Gauff all looking to make a mark in Paris.