First round singles action concludes on Tuesday in Paris.
A year ago in the women’s singles final, Coco Gauff came from a set down to defeat Aryna Sabalenka, the second time Gauff has done so against Sabalenka in a Major final. On Tuesday, both players return to Roland Garros to play their opening rounds, as Gauff looks to defend her title, and Sabalenka looks to win her first Major outside of a hard court.
Day 3 also sees the 2026 Roland Garros debut of World No.1 Jannik Sinner, who is looking to complete the career Grand Slam, a year after he was just one point away from winning this title.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable matches on Day 3 (in chronological order, all times local):
Adam Walton (WC) vs. Daniil Medvedev (6) – 11:00am on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Medvedev is 24-8 this season, with a pair of hard court titles. On clay, he is 5-3, and is coming off a semifinal run in Rome. At Roland Garros, he reached the quarterfinals back in 2021, but he’s lost in the first round in six of his nine career appearances.
Walton is a 27-year-old Australian wild card ranked 97th in the world who spent most of the clay court season playing Challenger events on hard courts. This is only his ninth career match at tour level on clay, but unlike Medvedev, he did win his first round match in Paris a year ago.
These players have split their two prior encounters, both of which occurred on hard courts during 2025. Walton upset Medvedev in Cincinnati, while Medvedev claimed a tight two-setter in Almaty.
Iva Jovic (17) vs. Alexandra Eala – 11:00am on Court 14
These two players have both made a significant impact on tour at an early age. 18-year-old Jovic achieved her first Major quarterfinal this past January in Melbourne, just a few months after winning a WTA 500 tournament in Guadalajara. 21-year-old Eala was a surprise semifinalist a year ago in Miami, and the Filipino has quickly gained a huge following.
However, Eala is yet to break through at the Majors, with a record of 1-4. And she’s just 16-12 this year at tour level, while Jovic is 21-13. This will be the first of likely many career meetings between the two.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro – 12:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Sabalenka is a superb 27-3 on the year, but she’s now lost two of her last three matches. The World No.1 has been dealing with a back injury, though she now insists she is back to 100% health.
This is not an easy first round opponent. Bouzas Maneiro is a 23-year-old Spaniard who owns two victories over top 10 players in the first round of Majors (Vondrousova, Navarro). She’s a good defender, which is the style of play that can that sometimes frustrate Sabalenka. However, Bouzas Maneiro is just 7-12 this season at tour level, and she’s 0-2 against Sabalenka.
Laura Siegemund vs. Naomi Osaka (16) – Second on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Osaka is a modest 9-5 during 2026, and 4-2 on clay. She’s just 8-7 lifetime at this tournament, and despite being one point away from upsetting Iga Swiatek two years ago, Osaka has failed to advance beyond the second round since 2019.
Siegemund is better known for her doubles success, but the 38-year-old was a Roland Garros quarterfinalist in singles back in 2020. However, she hasn’t won a singles match here ever since. But her mix of variety and grit has worked against Osaka in the past.
She defeated Osaka on clay back in 2017, though she lost to Osaka twice during 2018. This will be their first match in eight years.
Anna Kalinskaya (22) vs Lois Boisson – Third on Court Suzanne-Lenglen
A year ago, Boisson made one of the most shocking runs in Major history. As a French wild card ranked 361st in the world, she advanced all the way to the semifinals, with victories over Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva. Lois went on to win a clay court title in Hamburg, but then missed about eight months of action due to multiple injuries. She’s only played five matches since returning last month, and only prevailed in one of them. With a loss on Tuesday, Boisson would drop over 100 spots in the rankings.
Drawing the 22nd seed will apply even more to pressure to Boisson. However, Kalinskaya is 1-4 lifetime at Roland Garros, and just 13-10 this season.
Coco Gauff (4) vs. Taylor Townsend – Third in Court Philippe-Chatrier
Since winning this event in 2025, Gauff has only claimed one title, as she’s continued to battle issues with her serve and forehand motions. But she reached the final just over a week ago in Rome, bringing her 2026 record to 24-9.
Townsend is just 8-7 this year in singles, though she did come through qualifying in Rome to reach the third round. However, she’s 5-9 lifetime at Roland Garros.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Clement Tabur (WC) – Not Before 8:15pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
In the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner is the biggest favorite to win the Roland Garros men’s singles title since the glory days of Rafael Nadal. Even though he’s yet to even win this tournament, the Italian has been completely dominant of late on the ATP tour. Sinner is 36-12 on the year, and has taken the last six Masters 1000 titles, as well as last November’s ATP Finals.
By contrast, Tabur is a 26-year-old French wild card who has never won a match at a Major. While he did win a clay court Challenger event last month, this feels like quite a mismatch, as does pretty much any Sinner match nowadays.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
