It’s time again for the tennis tournament in Paris, the second Grand Slam of the season: French Open. Starting Sunday, the world’s best tennis players will battle for the coveted trophy. There are no Belgians left in the competition, but the field is anything but small. Read all about it in this article.
French Open
French Open, also known as the French Open, is an icon in the tennis world. It is the only clay-court tournament among the four majors and is beautifully located in the green suburbs of the French capital, Paris. Tennis legend Rafael Nadal won 14 titles here in as many finals—a record for the most singles titles at a single Grand Slam tournament. But Nadal has now retired, so all eyes are on his successor.
Could Alcaraz be starting a new streak? The young Spaniard is the defending champion and looks to be in great form again. Still, several strong opponents await, and he will need to prove himself. Among the women, world number one Aryna Sabalenka is entering the tournament. She’s not usually at her best on clay, but there’s a reason she holds the top ranking. She hopes to dethrone clay queen Iga Swiatek, who has already won three consecutive titles at French Open.
Men’s Favorites
The man to beat is defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who claimed his first Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2024 and is once again playing excellent clay-court tennis this year. He earned his first victory in Monte Carlo, followed by an impressive win over world number one Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open. That gave him two of the three ATP Masters 1000 clay titles. He only missed Madrid due to injury. It will be a tough challenge for Alcaraz to defend his ranking points from last year, but it also offers the opportunity to return to the top of the ATP rankings.
To do so, he’ll need to defeat Jannik Sinner again. The Italian, as mentioned, is the current world number one. He returns from a three-month doping suspension after his Italian Open performance, where he twice won sets 6-0. Following his Australian Open victory, he’ll certainly aim to win this tournament too. He could become the first Italian Grand Slam winner since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Novak Djokovic will also make an emotional return to Paris. Nine months ago, he won an Olympic gold medal here. For the 24-time Grand Slam winner, 2025 has been difficult so far—he’s yet to win a title and recently split from coach Andy Murray. First, he’ll play in the Geneva Open ATP tournament.
World number three Alexander Zverev will be seeking revenge for his loss in last year’s final. Young Frenchman Arthur Fils will also compete in his home city, while Norwegian Casper Ruud hopes to finally claim the big prize after reaching two previous finals.
Women’s Favorites
Will Aryna Sabalenka become queen of the clay? The world number one is having another impressive season and arrives in Paris with three tour-level titles—more than any other player in 2025. The 27-year-old recently won her 9th WTA 1000 title in Madrid, her 20th career singles title. Still, she has never reached the final at French Open, and her win rate in clay finals is just 33%. Her powerful baseline play makes her arguably the best player on tour right now, but French Open won’t be an easy ride.
Her biggest challenger is defending champion Iga Swiatek. Statistically, the Polish star is the best clay-court player and has the chance to make history with a fourth consecutive title. But she’s had a rough season, with early exits in Stuttgart and Rome. Still, she didn’t earn the nickname “queen of clay” for nothing.
Other contenders include Jasmine Paolini, last year’s runner-up, who recently won the Italian Open and returned to number 4 in the world rankings. Olympic doubles champion Zheng Qinwen will also be there. And keep an eye on Coco Gauff—the American reached the French Open final in 2022 and made it to the finals in both Madrid and Rome this year.
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