The quarterfinals begin on Tuesday in Paris.
On Sunday, Iga Swiatek survived a stern test from Elena Rybakina, eventually prevailing 7-5 in the third. On Tuesday, she plays another red-hot opponent in Elina Svitolina, who has won more matches on clay this season than any other WTA player.
The other women’s singles quarterfinal on Day 10 is also a considerable one. In a rematch from last year’s Australian Open final, Aryna Sabalenka takes on Qinwen Zheng, who defeated Sabalenka just a few weeks ago in Rome.
In men’s singles, Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti face the first two American men to reach the quarterfinals of Roland Garros in over two decades. Alcaraz plays Tommy Paul, while Musetti plays Frances Tiafoe.
Plus, the men’s and women’s doubles quarterfinals feature some compelling matchups.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Qinwen Zheng (8) – 11:00am on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Sabalenka claimed their first six meetings, all on hard courts, including last year’s championship match in Melbourne. And five of those six victories were in straight sets. But last month in Rome, in their first meeting on clay, Qinwen earned her own straight-set victory. She saved all five break points she faced, and broke Sabalenka’s serve three times.
Clay just may be Zheng’s best surface: three of her five WTA titles have come on clay, including of course winning Olympic gold last summer here in Paris. Since last July, she’s 21-3 on this surface, after an extended three-set battle in the last round with Liudmila Samsonova. This is her first Roland Garros quarterfinal, and she’s 1-2 in this round at other Majors.
Sabalenka is now 38-6 on the year, and hasn’t dropped a set through four rounds. On Sunday, she impressively overcame a 2-5 head-to-head record against Amanda Anisimova. This is Aryna’s third consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal: two years ago she defeated Elina Svitolina, while last year she suffered a surprising upset in this round at the hands of Mirra Andreeva, though Sabalenka was less than 100% for that match.
On Tuesday, I favor Aryna to avenge the recent loss to Zheng in Rome. She’ll certainly fare a bit better on break points, and she’s the better and much more experienced performer at this stage of a Major. Outside of last year’ loss to Andreeva, Sabalenka is 10-0 in Major quarterfinals.
Elina Svitolina (13) vs. Iga Swiatek (5) – Second on Philippe-Chatrier
Swiatek just narrowly edged Rybakina on Sunday, recovering from a 6-1 first-set beatdown, and winning several crucial points during the third set. That extended her Roland Garros winning streak to 25, and brought her overall record at this tournament to 39-2. Despite her well-documented struggles this past year, she’s still a four-time and defending champion in Paris, and she’s an extremely tough out on this court.
Svitolina was even closer to the exit in the last round, saving three match points in a comeback victory over last year’s other finalist, Jasmine Paolini. She’s now 16-2 this season on clay, and this is her fifth French Open quarterfinal. However, Elina is 0-4 in this round of this event, which includes a few heartbreaking losses. She was unable to hold onto a huge lead against Simona Halep in 2017, and was upset by qualifier Nadia Podoroska in 2020.
Swiatek leads their head-to-head 3-1, and took their only clay court meeting in straight sets. Svitolina’s only victory came on grass, which is easily Swiatek’s worst surface. I expect Iga to play a bit more freely and confidently coming off her Rybakina win. And she possesses the more formidable groundstrokes, making Swiatek the favorite to advance to the semifinals.
Lorenzo Musetti (8) vs. Frances Tiafoe (15) – Third on Court Philippe-Chatrier
The past 52 weeks have easily been the best of Musetti’s career, highlighted by winning an Olympic bronze medal 10 months ago on this same court. The 23-year-old has now reached the quarterfinals or better at the four biggest ATP clay court tournaments this season. This is his second Major quarterfinal, after making his debut at this stage last summer at Wimbledon, where he upset Taylor Fritz in five sets. Lorenzo has lost two sets through his first four rounds.
The past 52 weeks haven’t been as kind to Tiafoe, especially after losing a two-sets-to-one lead to Fritz in the US Open semifinals. This result is actually pretty shocking, as it’s the first time Frances has won four consecutive matches since leaving New York. And prior to this fortnight, he was 4-9 lifetime at Roland Garros. However, he hasn’t dropped a set to this stage.
At tour level, Tiafoe is 3-2 against Musetti, and has taken their last two encounters. But their only clay court matchup went to the Italian, which took place two years ago in Rome. Based on recent form, Lorenzo is a significant favorite to achieve his second Major semifinal. On a faster surface, Frances’ power might encourage me reconsider that, but not on clay.
Tommy Paul (12) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Tommy Paul is one of the rare ATP players who can physically keep up with Alcaraz. And he owns two victories over Carlitos, both of which occurred in Canada. Alcaraz won the last three times they played, on three different surfaces, though all three matches were tight. They clashed on these grounds during the Olympics last summer, with Carlitos winning a straight-set quarterfinal.
Paul outlasted his opposition in a pair of five-setters during the first week, before comfortably advancing in straights over Alexei Popyrin on Sunday. He’s now made the quarterfinals at three of the last four Majors, but this is the round he lost in at both last year’ Wimbledon as well as this year’s Australian Open, with the Wimbledon loss coming at the hands of Alcaraz.
Carlitos has lost a set in each of his last three matches, yet never fully seemed at risk of being eliminated from the tournament. This is his fourth consecutive Roland Garros quarterfinal, and he’s won his last two. Alcaraz also has now claimed 31 of his last 33 matches on this surface. So while I expect an extended battle on Tuesday evening, filled with compelling rallies, Carltios remains the favorite.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens (6) vs. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (2) – This is a rematch from the final of Rome just a few weeks ago, when the Italians prevailed in straights, despite trailing during both sets. Errani and Paolini were finalists here a year ago, and also won Olympic gold last summer on these grounds.
Christian Harrison and Evan King (9) vs. Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten (2) – These are two of the most in-form doubles teams of the season, as both reside inside the top five of the year-to-rankings. Harrison and King reached three consecutive ATP finals back in February, and were also semifinalists at two Masters 1000 events. Heliovaara and Patten are the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions.
Olga Danilovic and Anastasia Potapova vs. Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider (4) – Andreeva and Shnaider became Olympic silver medalists last summer in Paris, and also won the Miami Open this past March. Danilovic and Potapova are not a regular partnership, yet they already took out two seeded teams.
Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski (8) vs. Matthew Ebden and John Peers (15) – Brits Salisbury and Skupski teamed up for the 2025 season, and have reached two ATP finals thus far. Aussies Ebden and Peers claimed Olympic gold here in Paris a year ago.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
