The French Open will take place without Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004.
The Spaniard’s withdrawal through injury opens the door for the rest of the men’s field, while two-time champion Iga Swiatek will look to cement her dominance of the women’s event.
Here, the PA news agency picks out 10 players to watch at Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic
While the king of clay is absent, title hopefuls will still have to get past another 22-time grand slam champion. Djokovic has lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires twice and lost in the final on four other occasions. However, his preparation has been far from perfect, with surprise losses and concern over an elbow problem.
Carlos Alcaraz
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While Nadal’s absence undoubtedly leaves a huge hole, Spanish fans have another phenomenon to cheer in the shape of Alcaraz, who has reclaimed the world number one ranking from Djokovic. An early loss at the Italian Open was a shock but the 20-year-old was supreme in winning titles in Barcelona and Madrid and is firmly in the frame for a second grand slam title.
Holger Rune
If neither Djokovic nor Alcaraz lifts the title then the best bet may be on young Dane Rune. The 20-year-old has soared into the top 10 over the last six months and already boasts two wins over Djokovic. Ambitious and not afraid to rile up opponents or the crowd, Rune looks a slam champion in the making.
Daniil Medvedev
The mercurial Russian is no lover of clay but the confidence he has carried from an excellent season has translated to the red stuff, bringing him victory in Rome on Sunday. Medvedev has won more matches than any other man so far this year and will be seeded second in Paris.
Jannik Sinner
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Sinner’s emergence at the top of the game was rather overshadowed by Alcaraz’s even more rapid ascent but their rivalry has been a tonic to a sport adjusting to the loss of its aging superstars. This year has seen the big-hitting Italian establish himself in the top 10 and a grand slam breakthrough may not be too far away.
Iga Swiatek
The Pole strolled to her second Roland Garros title last year as part of a 37-match winning streak. A clay-court natural, Swiatek can appear unstoppable on the surface but the gap at the top of the women’s game has certainly narrowed. Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have been the players of the season so far while Swiatek has had a couple of injury niggles.
Aryna Sabalenka
The jocular Belarusian got the grand slam monkey off her back by beating Rybakina in a superb Australian Open final and has continued in the same vein ever since. Defeating Swiatek to win the clay title in Madrid was a big moment, although that is a much faster court. Sabalenka is yet to do well in Paris but she is a different player and competitor to 12 months ago.
Elena Rybakina
Rybakina may have been a surprise Wimbledon winner for many last summer but the danger caused by her power game is self evident, while she is as cool a customer as they come. The 23-year-old has shown excellent consistency this season and lifting the title in Rome saw her climb to fourth in the rankings.
Zheng Qinwen
China has been searching for a star to follow in the footsteps of former French Open winner Li Na and, in 20-year-old Zheng, they might just have found it. Athletic and powerful, she has risen steadily up the rankings into the top 20. Zheng reach the fourth round on her Roland Garros debut last year and was the only player to take a set off Swiatek.
Marketa Vondrousova
Even among the numerous women who have made grand slam finals in recent years, Vondrousova flies under the radar. Beaten by Ashleigh Barty at Roland Garros in 2019 as a teenager, the Czech has struggled with injury since. But she is one of the most naturally talented players on clay and has been showing good signs this season.
Djokovic recovers from slow start to move past Michelsen on Shanghai return
Novak Djokovic marked his Shanghai Masters return with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Alex Michelsen.
The four-time champion, who is appearing in this event for the first time since 2019, required two tie-breaks before prevailing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9) in just under two hours.
Djokovic, still donning a protective sleeve over his right knee, made a slow start in only his second match since losing to Alexei Popyrin in the US Open third round, winning just four points in the first three games as he fell 4-1 behind.
However, the 24-time major winner broke back in the seventh game before dominating the tie-break for first blood.
Roles were reversed in the second set as Michelsen cancelled out an earlier break in game seven.
However, the American squandered two set points to level and was eventually punished by Djokovic, who will play either 28th seed Flavio Cobolli or three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the next round.
Data Debrief: Djokovic continues American dominance
Djokovic was given an early scare, but his experience eventually showed as he came through.
Including team events, the Serb has now won his last 33 ATP-level matches against American opponents, with his last such defeat coming against Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in 2016.
The 24-time major winner also demonstrated his determination when the pressure intensified, and he has now come through 12 of his 16 tie-breaks played this season.
Gauff fights back to beat Badosa in China Open semi-finals
Coco Gauff recovered from a set and a break down to reach the China Open final with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa on Saturday.
Having given up an early break in the opener, Gauff got one of her own by converting her eighth break point in a mammoth eighth game featuring 10 deuces, only for Badosa to hit back immediately to go a set up.
Gauff lost serve immediately in the second set to go on the back foot, only to level the match with back-to-back breaks, the second of them to love.
The decider began with a series of breaks, Gauff taking two of them as the momentum swung her way, then she protected her lead all the way to reach her first final since winning January's Auckland Open.
The 20-year-old is the youngest player to reach the women's singles final at the China Open since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
She has fought from a set down to win in each of her last three matches, the first time she has done so in her career. She is the first player to do so in WTA-1000 events since Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells 2022.
Data Debrief: Gauff brings up century
Saturday's match was Gauff's 100th at WTA 1000-level events, and her 67th such victory.
Among American players, only Serena Williams (87), Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula (70) have bettered her 67 wins through their first 100 matches at such events.
Alcaraz beats home favourite Shang in Shanghai opener
Carlos Alcaraz began his Shanghai Open campaign with a straight-sets win over China's Shang Juncheng, bringing up his 10th straight victory.
Just three days on from his epic victory over Jannik Sinner in the China Open final, Alcaraz recorded a 6-2 6-2 win over Shang inside one hour and 17 minutes.
The four-time grand slam winner wasted no time by breaking in the very first game of the encounter, then repeated the trick six games later to take the opener, avoiding any pressure as he won 82% of his first-serve points.
Alcaraz produced the shot of the match early in the second set, producing a brilliant backhand flick to salvage a point while backtracking from the net.
Back-to-back breaks midway through the second set sealed Alcaraz's 10th straight victory, after which he hailed the performance of his 19-year-old opponent.
"I'm not used to playing against players younger than me," Alcaraz said. "He has been playing good tennis lately, winning his first ATP title [in Chengdu], so I'm pretty sure he's going to climb the rankings.
"At the net he told me that it's a pleasure share the court with you. So these kinds of things that I hear from younger players, it's great."
Data Debrief: Double figures for Alcaraz
Alcaraz's victory was his 10th in succession since he suffered a shock second-round defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open in August.
He will face another Chinese player in the next round, taking on world number 560 Wu Yibing.
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