Coco Gauff picks out the five women she believes are the favorites to win the French Open title this year

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Coco Gauff has enjoyed a stellar clay-court campaign and looks to be a strong favorite for the French Open.

The American star reached her first final of the season at the Madrid Open, where she took down the likes of Belinda Bencic, Mirra Andreeva and Iga Swiatek.

Coming up just short, Gauff lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final, 3-6, 6-7, suffering her fifth career defeat against the Belarusian.

Never one to dwell on a defeat, Gauff bounced back immediately in Rome, reaching her second successive WTA 1000 final.

Again, she couldn’t quite get over the line, as Gauff fell to home favorite Jasmine Paolini in the final, 4-6, 2-6.

She may have lost both WTA 1000 finals but will no doubt take the positives from the experience, as Gauff now looks ahead to Roland Garros.

During her pre-tournament press conference, Gauff named five players she considers to be favorites for the French Open.

Coco Gauff names her top five favorites for the 2025 French Open

Speaking about the ‘open’ draw in Paris, Gauff shared some of the names she believes could walk away with the title in a few weeks’ time.

“I think everybody is playing some great tennis, it’s definitely pretty open,” she said.

“Obviously, I hope I’m up there, but there’s Jasmine [Paolini], Aryna [Sabalenka], Iga [Swiatek], Qinwen [Zheng], Mirra [Andreeva], there are more I can name that all have the opportunity.

“Who knows, we’ve all seen things like the US Open when Emma [Raducanu] won, so literally anybody can win this tournament.”

Britain’s Emma Raducanu shocked the world in 2021, becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam tournament, doing so without dropping a set.

With that in mind, Gauff went on to highlight the differences between men’s and women’s tennis.

“I think that’s what makes women’s tennis exciting,” she said.

“I think this is why everybody should tune in because, it’s maybe not so much on the men’s side where you have maybe like the top three or four who’s going to win, I think with the women there’s so many possibilities.

“It makes each matchup equally exciting.”

Who will Coco Gauff play in the first round of the French Open?

As aware as Gauff is of the challenges her rivals pose to her, she’ll still be confident of leaving her mark at the year’s second Grand Slam.

First up for Gauff is Olivia Gadecki, the fifth-ranked Australian player, who has won just one main draw WTA match in 2025.

Gadecki entered the Australian Open in January as the nation’s biggest hope, but has slipped down the pecking order in recent months.

The 23-year-old will be making her Roland Garros main draw debut when she takes to the court against Gauff, having lost in qualifying on her four previous visits to the French capital.

Gauff will be a strong favorite to emerge victorious against the Aussie and begin her charge through the rest of the field.

Coco Gauff’s route to the 2025 French Open title

Assuming Gauff makes her way past Gadecki in round one, she’ll soon look ahead to what could be a tricky fourth round clash.

• 1R v Olivia Gadecki
• 2R v Chloe Pacquet
• 3R v Anna Kalinskaya
• 4R v Barbora Krejcikova

Czechia’s Barbora Krejcikova is one of just three former champions taking part in the 2025 French Open, having taken the title in 2021.

The 29-year-old has, however, struggled with injury recently and has only played one match since November.

Returning in Strasbourg, Krejcikova lost her first match of the season to Magda Linette, 3-6, 3-6.

If Gauff can make it past the two-time Slam winner, she’d likely come face to face with two of her fellow Americans in the quarterfinals and semi-finals.

Australian Open champion Madison Keys could await her in the quarterfinals, before Jessica Pegula in the semis.

Should she pass the Krejcikova, Keys, and Pegula tests, she could then take on world number one Sabalenka in the final.

Gauff and Sabalenka are tied 5-5 in their head-to-head, and fans would surely love to see an 11th career meeting between the pair take place on the Parisian clay.

The 21-year-old won’t want to get too far ahead of herself, however, and will first set her sights on Gadecki, whom she’ll play in the first round on Tuesday, May 27.