The clay-court tennis season has been underway for some time now and whilst it serves up some prestigious prizes along the way, this journey is, really, all about the destination. And that is, of course, Paris and, more specifically, the crushed brick of Roland-Garros. The French Open is the second Grand Slam of the year, taking place after the Australian Open and before Wimbledon.
Here we take a look at this year’s singles tournaments, with there being plenty of interesting subplots for both the men and the women. The competition officially began on the 19th of May 2025, but that is just for the qualifiers, with the tournament proper not getting underway until the 25th of May. The men’s final will take place on Sunday the 8th of June, giving us a fortnight of magnificent tennis to savour.
Men’s Singles
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz is the defending champion, having beaten German Alexander Zverev 3-2 in a thrilling final in which he won the final two sets. He is also a narrow favourite, priced at odds of 6/4 for those that care about such things. That places him a fraction ahead of world number one Jannik Sinner in the betting, with the Italian set to return to the biggest stage having served his controversial ban.
It will not be Sinner’s first tournament back though, having competed in Rome earlier this month. He showed few signs of rustiness there as he progressed to the final. An Italian man has not triumphed in that tournament since 1976 (when Adriano Panatta won and went on to win the French Open too), and hopes were high for the world’s top-ranked player.
However, setting the scene very nicely for Paris, in the final he came up against clay specialist Alcaraz. The Spaniard won 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, ending the incredible 26-game winning streak Sinner was, including matches prior to his three-month ban. The victory was Alcaraz’s first at the Italian Open but it was his fourth in a row against his rival, who at 23 is a year older.
Not Just About Top Two
Sinner and Alcaraz have three and four Grand Slam wins, respectively. Between them, they have now won every one of the past five, and six of the previous seven. As compelling as the battle between these two modern greats may be, it would be wrong to focus solely on them and paint the French Open as a two-horse race.
He will not win, but French favourite Richard Gasquet will receive a lot of attention as he plays his final pro event at the age of 38. Another one of the sport’s elder statesmen, Novak Djokovic, 38 on the 22nd of May, has a far more realistic chance of success as he bids to win a 25th career Grand Slam. Victory here would give him a fourth career Grand Slam and see him move out in front of Margaret Court as the most successful player ever (though it should be noted that the majority of her Slams were before the Open Era).
The Serbian recently dispensed with the coaching services of Andy Murray and is down to sixth in the world. He is the fourth favourite, but at odds of 16/1 it is clear he will need to pull something unexpected out of the bag. That said, write him off at your peril. Zverev is a 14/1 shot, Casper Ruud is available at 20/1, Italian Lorenzo Musetti is priced at 33/1, as is Jack Draper.
UK fans will be desperate to see 23-year-old Draper, now officially the fifth-best player in the world, do well. He has had some decent results on clay and whilst Wimbledon and the two hard-court majors are his best chances of landing a first Slam, he certainly has the ability to cause an upset.
Women’s Event More Open
.jpg){kind=link}
As has often been the case since Serena Williams’ dominance ended, picking who will win a women’s Grand Slam is no mean feat. And we say that despite the fact that the current world number five, Iga Swiatek, has won this event for each of the last three seasons, as well as in 2020. The Polish star has a sensational record at Roland-Garros, boasting a 95% win-rate here, with 35 match victories and just two defeats.
Despite those formidable stats, Swiatek is not even the favourite, although there is little to separate her at 11/4 and the market leader, Aryna Sabalenka, at 5/2. Sabalenka is the world number one, and by some distance. She boasts 10,683 ranking points, with US star Coco Gauff next on just 6,863.
The Belarusian made the quarters in Paris in 2024 and a career best of the semi in 2023 and is a far better player on a hard-court surface. She lost in the final of the Australian Open earlier in the year but won that tournament in both 2024, when she also won the US Open, and 2023. Her form through 2024 was excellent and saw her end the year as world number one, whilst 2025 has been just as good, aside from her loss in Melbourne to Madison Keys that denied her an Aussie treble.
That disappointment aside, she has already won the Brisbane Open this year, made the final at Indian Wells, won the WTA 1000 Miami Open and then made a fifth final of 2025 at the Stuttgart Open. Underlining her credentials for the French Open, she also won the Madrid Open at the start of May, beating Gauff in straight sets in the final. That was another WTA 1000 triumph and, coming on clay, it is easy to see why she is so well fancied here.
As well as the obvious claims of Swiatek, who lost in the Madrid semis to Gauff, and Gauff herself, who is the third favourite here (at 7/1), Mirra Andreeva is another in with a real chance. It was Andreeva who beat Sabalenka in the final at Indian Wells, and the Russian world number six, who made the semis at Paris last year, is the fourth woman at single-digit odds this time around.
There are many excellent players beyond those four but, in truth, it would be a real surprise to see someone else take glory. The home crowd has no players in with a realistic chance and for Brits, Emma Raducanu or Katie Boulter would need a minor miracle to go all the way – and lightning has already struck once for the former.