The French Open begins at Roland Garros on Sunday, with plenty of intriguing subplots for tennis fans to watch closely over the next fortnight.
14-time champion Rafael Nadal is set to play in the tournament for one final time before he retires later this year, while Andy Murray, playing in Paris for just the second time in seven years, is also not expected to return again in future.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are two of the favourites but both have had injury issues in the build-up to Roland Garros, while Novak Djokovic, who must at least reach the final to prevent Sinner replacing him as world No1, is yet to produce his best tennis during the clay-court swing.
Alexander Zverev, winner of the Italian Open last week, has reached three straight semi-finals at this tournament, though he has the small matter of a first-round clash with Nadal.
There is no doubting who the favourite is on the women’s side of the draw, as Iga Swiatek bids to win her fourth French Open title and a fifth Grand Slam overall.
Coco Gauff could prove to be the biggest threat on Swiatek’s route to the final, but the American, like most, has a miserable record against the Polish star.
Aryna Sabalenka has not failed to reach the las -four of a Slam she has played in since the 2022 Australian Open, though she has lost to Swiatek in finals in both Madrid and Rome in recent weeks.
Dominant: It is difficult to see Iga Swiatek being stopped at Roland Garros
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French Open 2024 dates and venue
The French Open gets underway on Sunday, May 26, 2024, and runs through to the men’s final a fortnight later, on Sunday, June 9.
As ever, it is being played at Roland Garros in Paris.
How to watch the French Open
TV channel: The tournament will be broadcast in full on Eurosport, with a subscription costing £6.99 a month or £59.99 for an annual pass.
Live stream: Those who have subscribed can also stream every match live online through the Discovery+ app and website.
French Open 2024 prize money
Men’s and women’s singles
- Champion – €2.4million
- Runner-up – €1.2m
- Semi-finalist – €650,000
- Quarter-finalist – €415,000
- Fourth round – €250,000
- Third round – €158,000
- Second round – €110,000
- First round – €73,000
Men’s and women’s doubles (per pair)
- Champion – €590,000
- Runner-up – €295,000
- Semi-finalist – €148,000
- Quarter-finalist – €80,000
- Third round – €43,500
- Second round – €27,500
- First round – €17,500
Novak Djokovic beat Casper Ruud in last year’s French Open men’s final
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French Open 2024 full singles schedule
Play will begin for the morning sessions at 10am BST, with the action getting underway on Court Philippe-Chatrier an hour later. The night sessions will begin at 7:15pm.
- Sunday, May 26 – men’s and women’s first round
- Monday, May 27 – men’s and women’s first round
- Tuesday, May 28 – men’s and women’s first round
- Wednesday, May 29 – men’s and women’s second round
- Thursday, May 30 – men’s and women’s second round
- Friday, May 31 – men’s and women’s third round
- Saturday, June 1 – men’s and women’s third round
- Sunday, June 2 – men’s and women’s fourth round
- Monday, June 3 – men’s and women’s fourth round
- Tuesday, June 4 – men’s and women’s quarter-finals
- Wednesday, June 5 – men’s and women’s quarter-finals
- Thursday, June 6 – women’s semi-finals
- Friday, June 7 – men’s semi-finals
- Saturday, June 8 – women’s final
- Sunday, June 9 – men’s final
British players and notable first-round matches
There are six British singles players in the main draw, with Heather Watson, Billy Harris and Ryan Peniston among those unable to make it through qualifying and add to that tally.
Emma Raducanu will not feature at Roland Garros, after she withdrew from the qualifying event in an attempt “to keep fit for the rest of the year”.
Murray, playing in the French Open for what is expected to be the final time, has been handed a tough first-round draw against 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka. It is the third match in a row at Roland Garros that Murray has faced Wawrinka, having lost to him in both 2017 and 2020.
Dan Evans, who will play in the doubles in Paris alongside Murray, goes up against Holger Rune, while Jack Draper will face Carlos Alcaraz in the second round if both get through their opening matches. Cameron Norrie, if he beats Pavel Kotov, will take on the winner of Murray’s clash with Wawrinka.
Harriet Dart faces the seeded Linda Noskova, and Katie Boulter, who has never won a main-draw match on clay in her career, plays Paula Badosa, a former world No2.
Favourite Swiatek goes up against a qualifier in the opening round and could then face Naomi Osaka, if the four-time Grand Slam winner gets past Lucia Bronzetti.
Andy Murray faces Stan Wawrinka in a blockbuster first-round encounter
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Notable first-round matches:
Andy Murray vs Stan Wawrinka
Cameron Norrie (32) vs Pavel Kotov
Dan Evans vs Holger Rune (13)
Jack Draper vs Jesper De Jong
Alexander Zverev (4) vs Rafael Nadal
Harriet Dart vs Linda Noskova (27)
Katie Boulter (26) vs Paula Badosa
Qinwen Zheng (7) vs Alize Cornet
Elina Svitolina vs Karolina Pliskova
Lucia Bronzetti vs Naomi Osaka
French Open 2024 seedings
- 1 – Novak Djokovic
- 2 – Jannik Sinner
- 3 – Carlos Alcaraz
- 4 – Alexander Zverev
- 5 – Daniil Medvedev
- 6 – Andrey Rublev
- 7 – Casper Ruud
- 8 – Hubert Hurkacz
- 9 – Stefanos Tsitsipas
- 10 – Grigor Dimitrov
- 11 – Alex de Minaur
- 12 – Taylor Fritz
- 13 – Holger Rune
- 14 – Tommy Paul
- 15 – Ben Shelton
- 16 – Nicolas Jarry
- 17 – Ugo Humbert
- 18 – Karen Khachanov
- 19 – Alexander Bublik
- 20 – Sebastian Baez
- 21 – Felix Auger-Aliassime
- 22 – Adrian Mannarino
- 23 – Francisco Cerundolo
- 24 – Alejandro Tabilo
- 25 – Frances Tiafoe
- 26 – Tallon Griekspoor
- 27 – Sebastian Korda
- 28 – Tomas Martin Etcheverry
- 29 – Arthur Fils
- 30 – Lorenzo Musetti
- 31 – Mariano Navone
- 32 – Cameron Norrie
Aryna Sabalenka has only once gone beyond the third round at Roland Garros
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- 1 – Iga Swiatek
- 2 – Aryna Sabalenka
- 3 – Coco Gauff
- 4 – Elena Rybakina
- 5 – Marketa Vondrousova
- 6 – Maria Sakkari
- 7 – Qinwen Zheng
- 8 – Ons Jabeur
- 9 – Jelena Ostapenko
- 10 – Daria Kasatkina
- 11 – Danielle Collins
- 12 – Jasmine Paolini
- 13 – Beatriz Haddad Maia
- 14 – Madison Keys
- 15 – Elina Svitolina
- 16 – Ekaterina Alexandrova
- 17 – Liudmila Samsonova
- 18 – Marta Kostyuk
- 19 – Victoria Azarenka
- 20 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
- 21 – Carolina Garcia
- 22 – Emma Navarro
- 23 – Anna Kalinskaya
- 24 – Barbora Krejcikova
- 25 – Elise Mertens
- 26 – Katie Boulter
- 27 – Linda Noskova
- 28 – Sorana Cirstea
- 29 – Veronika Kudermetova
- 30 – Dayana Yastremska
- 31 – Leylah Fernandez
- 32 – Katerina Siniakova
French Open 2024 latest odds
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
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