The French Open is rapidly approaching, with a new men’s champion incoming this year given the absence of Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz is out of Roland Garros with a wrist injury, but his WTA counterpart Coco Gauff is set to try and defend her title in Paris.
Gauff is currently ramping up her preparations for the clay-court Grand Slam in Rome, having committed to the Italian Open alongside various other WTA superstars.
Her fellow top four players Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek are also in the field for Rome, which arrives immediately after the Madrid Open.
In Spain, Marta Kostyuk defeated Mirra Andreeva to clinch the title, and has been named among Sam Querrey’s four favorites for the French Open.
Will Elena Rybakina win the French Open?
If not, who do you think will?
Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina named among French Open favorites
Naming his fourth and third favorites to claim the top prize at Roland Garros, Querrey said on Tennis Channel: “Okay this was tough, especially after last week, the semifinals we got in Madrid.
“My number four is last week’s champion Marta Kostyuk. How can you not put her at four? She won last week, she also won the previous week. And it’s the way she played last week too. She ran through the draw.
“Number three, I have who she beat in the final, Mirra Andreeva. Little more consistent on the clay over the years, been pretty much a consistent top 10 player. So she’s in my number three spot right now.”
WTA icon Tracy Austin then shared her picks, saying: “Well, and this was the one that we’ve been rallying with, is I have to put Iga Swiatek.
“And unfortunately, I put her at number four, because I don’t believe that Iga has been to a semi since all the way last September of a tournament.
“So she’s losing earlier, but she’s won Roland Garros four times, and she’s won Rome three times. She’s got a new coach, Francisco Roig.
“It was so new before Stuttgart, where she lost early. Maybe a few more weeks in, they’ve worked on her serve.
“And also, when you walk into a place where you’ve won four times, I think she’s going to get that good feeling. So that’s number four.
“Then Rybakina is my number three. I think people forget that she won here in Rome. And Rybakina has won 27 matches already this year. And then she won Stuttgart, she won Stuttgart on clay.
“She beat Andreeva, by the way, in straight sets, and then she also beat [Karolina] Muchova. What’s great about it is there are so many players you can put in this top four.”
How would you now rate Aryna Sabalenka’s chances of winning the French Open on a scale of 1-10?
Sam Querrey and Tracy Austin back Aryna Sabalenka for Roland Garros title
The French Open favorites debate returned to Querrey, who named last year’s finalists as his top two again this year.
“Top two, last year’s defending champion, Coco Gauff,” he said. “The results have been a little inconsistent for her, but she had the run in Miami, right?
“She’s been playing better lately, and she’s the defending champion there, and I still feel like clay is her best surface. So she’s my number two.
“And number one, who else? Sabalenka, right? She’s been number one in the world now for a couple years. She’s been so dominant, really on all surfaces.
“I know she didn’t win Roland Garros last year, but that match in the final, windy day, was it was a battle, but I still feel like she is the favorite heading into Roland Garros.”
Austin then commented: “This kills me and I love it at the same time is I agree with Sam on both of those.
“But I think Coco, because she moves so well on the surface, she can lift that forehand and kind of extract mistakes, plays so well with her movement.
“And then Sabalenka, I think that she is a better player this year. She mentally lost that match last year because of the wind, and she got down on herself. I think she’s improved in that area.”
Last year’s runner-up has indeed been a dominant figure of late, with Sabalenka spending her 82nd successive week at world number one in Rome.
It’s a stunning run, and one that should give her great confidence heading to Paris, although Gauff will also be boosted by that fine 6-7(5-7), 6-2, 6-4 comeback victory in 2025.
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