First round singles action begins on Sunday in Paris.
A year ago in the men’s singles championship match, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in one of the best Major finals of all-time. But a year later, Alcaraz is unable to defend his title due to a wrist injury, which will also force him to miss Wimbledon. In his absence, and even before his absence, Sinner has asserted his dominance on the ATP tour, claiming the last six Masters 1000 events. The World No.1 is a huge favorite to win his first Roland Garros, after being just one point away in 2025. However, as we saw this past January in Melbourne when he was upset in the semifinals by Novak Djokovic, Sinner is not invincible.
The women’s singles draw feels much more wide open. Four different players are the reigning champions at the four Grand Slam events, and the WTA clay court tournaments leading up to this Major saw some surprising champions.
Coco Gauff is the defending champion, yet she has only claimed one title since winning this event last year. Iga Swiatek is a four-time Roland Garros champion, yet she hasn’t won a clay court title in two full years. Elena Rybakina won this year’s first Major, yet she’s never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in Paris. Aryna Sabalenka is top the seed and a four-time Major champion, yet all of those titles have come on hard courts. And with Ukrainians Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina winning the two WTA 1000 clay court tournaments this season, there is no definitive favorite to win this title.
Sunday’s schedule sees Djokovicplay his opening match, as will 2024 runner-up Alexander Zverev. Plus, 19-year-old Joao Fonseca looks to turn around what has been a disappointing sophomore season on tour. Women’s action is headlined by three players who made deep runs a few weeks ago in Madrid: the champion (Kostyuk), as well as Mirra Andreeva and Hailey Baptiste, with Baptiste facing 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable matches on Day 1 (in chronological order, all times local):
Marta Kostyuk (15) vs. Oksana Selekhmeteva – 11:00am on Court Simonne-Mathieu
Kostyuk is 18-14 on the year, but has missed multiple events due to injury. After winning the biggest title of her career in Madrid, she was forced to withdraw from Rome due to hip and ankle issues. And she’s yet to breakthrough at the Majors, with the 2024 Australian Open remaining the only time she has advanced to a quarterfinal.
Selekhmeteva is a 23-year-old with a losing record this season, but she did reach the third round of this year’s Australian Open.
This will be an awkward first-time matchup between the Ukrainian and the Russian.
Hailey Baptiste (26) vs. Barbora Krejcikova – Second on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
In Madrid, Baptiste pulled off back-to-back thrilling victories over Belinda Bencic and Aryna Sabalenka, to achieve her first WTA 1000 semifinal. That propelled 24-year-old to make her top 25 debut. And a year ago at this event, she made her debut in the second week of a Major.
By contrast, Krejcikova has achieved no success at this event since she won it five years ago, with a record of just 1-4. And 2026 has been yet another year where the Czech has been sidelined by injury, resulting in a tour-level record of just 4-4, though she is coming off a run to a clay court final at a 125-level tournament.
Two years ago on a hard court in Wuhan, Baptiste defeated Krejcikova in straights.
Benjamin Bonzi vs. Alexander Zverev (2) – Second on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Zverev is 28-9 during 2026, but it’s now been over a year since he’s won a title. The German has advanced to the quarterfinals or better in seven of the last eight years at Roland Garros, where he owns 38 match wins, more than any other Major.
Bonzi is a 29-year-old Frenchman who is just 2-5 lifetime at his home Slam, and while he’s a former top 50 player, he’s currently barely ranked inside the top 100. The most memorable victory of his career came last summer at Wimbledon, when he upset Daniil Medvedev.
This is another first-time meeting on the day.
Mirra Andreeva (8) vs. Fiona Ferro (WC) – Third on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Last year in Paris, Andreeva suffered one of her all-too-common emotional meltdowns, leading to a huge upset in the quarterfinals at the hands of Lois Boisson, a French wild card who was ranked 361st in the world. However, across the past two months, Mirra has been playing extremely well on this surface, with a record of 15-3.
In her return to Court Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva plays another French wild card in Ferro. The 29-year-old peaked at No.39 back in 2021, yet has seen her ranking plummet in recent years, and is now at No.200. She reached the round of 16 in Paris six years ago, when she upset Elena Rybakina.
Three years ago at a lower-level event on clay, Andreeva beat Ferro in three sets.
Joao Fonseca (28) vs. Luka Pavlovic (Q) – Last on Court Simonne-Mathieu
Fonseca has failed to gain any traction during 2026, after starting out the year with a back injury. He’s only 10-9 overall, and only 6-6 on clay, the Brazilian’s most comfortable surface.
Pavlovic is a 26-year-old French qualifier ranked 240th, and is making his main draw debut at a Major. He’s a power player with a big serve, who will be facing Fonseca for the first time.
Giovanni Petshi Perricard vs. Novak Djokovic (3) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
This will be only the third tournament Djokovic has played since advancing to the final of the Australian Open in January, as he’s been battling right shoulder and forearm injuries. He played only one clay court lead-up event, losing in his opening round to Dino Prizmic. Novak was a semifinalist here a year ago, when he lost to Sinner in straights.
Mpetshi Perricard made quite a first impression on tour two years ago when he won the title in Lyon, which was only his fourth-ever ATP tournament. But his results tailed off dramatically last season, and like Djokovic, he’s been battling multiple injuries during 2026. The 22-year-old Frenchman is just 6-11 this year at tour level.
In his first match against Djokovic, big-serving Mpetshi Perricard will be trying to achieve a feat that has never been done: defeat Djokovic in the first round of Roland Garros.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
