Second round singles action begins on Wednesday in Paris.
At the last Major, Iga Swiatek opened up her bakery and handed Emma Raducanu a bagel and a breakstick, via a score line of 6-1, 6-0. Four months later, can Raducanu challenge Swiatek on Iga’s beloved clay?
Last year’s other finalist in women’s singles, Jasmine Paolini, also plays noteworthy competition on Wednesday, in three-time Major quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic.
In men’s singles, two top Americans face complicated second round draws, just a round after American No.1 Taylor Fritz was eliminated from this tournament. Tommy Paul goes up against former Wimbledon quarterfinalist Marton Fucsovics, while Frances Tiafoe takes on two-time US Open semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta.
Plus, big names like Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, Casper Ruud, and Qinwen Zheng will all play their second round matches.
Through the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Jasmine Paolini (4) vs. Ajla Tomljanovic – 12:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Defending a big result at a Major for the first time, and coming off such a monumental week in Rome where she won both the singles and doubles titles at her home country’s biggest event, I would not be surprised if Paolini makes an early exit in Paris. She faltered a bit in her opening round, dropping the second and going down a break in the third to Yue Yuan, yet recovered to win 6-3 in the third. Jasmine is now 23-8 on the year, and 10-2 on clay.
Tomljanovic has battled multiple injuries across the last few seasons, and is only 12-10 this year at tour level. However, she did advance to a semifinal on clay just last week in Rabat. However, this is certainly not Ajla’s strongest surface, and she’s 7-9 lifetime at Roland Garros.
In their first career meeting, Paolini is certainly the favorite. But Tomljanovic will likely play pressure-free, and her aggressive hitting from the back of the court may apply more pressure on last year’s runner-up.
Marton Fucsovics vs. Tommy Paul (12) – Third on Court 14
Tommy Paul is arguably the best American man on clay, and he feels overdue for a deep run in Paris. Surprisingly, he’s just 6-6 at Roland Garros, and his third round appearance a year ago is his best result to date. But the 28-year-old has now achieved back-to-back semifinals in Rome, and he came back from a set down on Sunday to defeat Elmer Moller in four sets.
Fucsovics won his opening round in straights, bringing his French Open record to 8-7. The 33-year-old advanced to the round of 16 here back in 2020, when he upset Daniil Medvedev in the first round. Marton is 23-11 this year at all levels.
At tour level, Fucsovics is 2-0 against Paul, with two straight-set victories on hard courts. However, they haven’t played in over four years, and Tommy is the much better performer at this stage of their careers. Paul should earn his first victory over Fucsovics on Wednesday.
Emma Raducanu vs. Iga Swiatek (5) – Third on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Swiatek leads their head-to-head 4-0, and has taken all eights sets they’ve contested. Yet unexpectedly, their two clay court meetings have been their tightest ones. Last April in Stuttgart, Raducanu pushed Swiatek to a first-set tiebreak, and Iga took the second 6-3.
The four-time and defending champion’s recent struggles are well-documented, as she hasn’t won a semifinal at a non-team event in a full year now. Raducanu’s struggles since her shocking US Open title in 2021 are also well-documented. Yet while she’s a modest 12-10 on the year, Emma has performed well at a few recent WTA 1000 events. She reached the quarterfinals in Miami, and the round of 16 in Rome.
Of course, Iga is a huge favorite in this match. But I’m curious to see how competitive Emma can make this, and how Iga reacts if she is pushed deep into a set. Swiatek’s lack of confidence leaves her a bit vulnerable right now, and it was this same round a year ago when Iga was just one point from exiting this tournament at the hands of another US Open champ, Naomi Osaka.
Frances Tiafoe (15) vs. Pablo Carreno Busta – Last on Court 7
Since losing a two-sets-to-one lead in the US Open semifinals to Taylor Fritz, Tiafoe has not been the same player. He is 18-18 since that heartbreaking loss, and arrived in Paris having lost three of his last four matches on clay. Roland Garros is easily the worst Major in Frances’ career, where he is just 5-9 lifetime after his first round win over Roman Safiullin.
Carreno Busta is 18-11 at this tournament, and advanced to the quarterfinals in both 2017 and 2020. He missed much of 2023 and 2024 due to an elbow injury, which he eventually underwent surgery to address. And Pablo is just 4-8 this season at tour level, losing his last four matches before his first round victory against Francisco Comesana.
Their only prior encounter occurred on clay, and went to Tiafoe, though that took place over seven years ago. With neither player near the peak of their confidence level, I give the slight edge to Carreno Busta to pull off the upset. The Spaniard owns a lot more prior success at this event, and Tiafoe has only twice won back-to-back matches since last summer’s US Open.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Emiliana Arango vs. Qinwen Zheng (8) – Qinwen overcame former finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets on Sunday. Arango is a 24-year-old from Columbia ranked 85th in the world, and she reached the final of Merida earlier this season on a hard court.
Casper Ruud (7) vs. Nuno Borges – Ruud defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas in straights on Monday. He’s 1-0 against Borges, who’s only ATP title to date came last summer in Bastad, where he beat Rafael Nadal in the final.
Fabian Marozsan vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Alcaraz has now claimed 28 of his last 30 matches on clay, dating back to his title run here a year ago. He has split two meetings with Marozsan, with their match on this surface actually going to Fabian, as he defeated Carlitos in straights two years ago in Rome.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Jil Teichmann – Sabalenka dropped only one game in her opening round. Teichmann was a surprise finalist four years ago in Cincinnati. Three years ago in Doha, Aryna defeated Jil 6-2, 6-1.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
