The 2025 French Open, the year’s second major, kicks off on Sunday. The reigning champions, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, are favored to repeat, but not by an overwhelming margin.
Here are the top five storylines to monitor at Roland-Garros.
The post-Rafa era is officially here
Rafael Nadal retired from tennis at last year’s Davis Cup, but his retirement will not feel official until the organizers of the French Open honor him during Sunday’s opening ceremony. It’ll be interesting to see who takes the throne from the 14-time winner, who made Roland-Garros his playground for nearly two decades. Alcaraz is the obvious candidate to succeed Nadal, but keep an eye on blossoming World No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti, who thrives on clay.
Can Coco Gauff ride her momentum?
The 21-year-old has been playing her best tennis in a year, reaching consecutive clay-court WTA 1000 finals in Rome and Madrid (the youngest player to do so). While she lost to Jasmine Paolini and Aryna Sabalenka, she showed tremendous growth in her clay-court game after an underwhelming clay-court swing in 2024 that saw her falter at the Paris Olympics and Roland-Garros. Previously a runner-up at the French Open in 2022, Gauff is a much-improved player. The 2023 U.S. Open winner is primed to win her second major.
Will the teens play spoiler again?
At the Australian Open, three teenagers upset top-10-ranked players, a remarkable turn of events that hadn’t occurred at a major in nearly 20 years. The trio, Jakub Mensik, Learner Tien and Joao Fonseca, has continued to take strides, with Mensik stunning Novak Djokovic to capture his first ATP1000 title in Miami. The rise of the teens extends to the women, with 18-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva winning back-to-back WTA1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells. Nobody should be shocked if Mensik or Andreeva go the distance, much like when a 19-year-old Nadal won his first French Open title in 2005.
Surely, the Queen of Clay won’t four-peat?
Swiatek is eying her fifth French Open title, and fourth in a row, but she arrives in Paris low on confidence after a series of underwhelming performances in 2025. Her third-round exit at Rome meant she dropped to World No. 5 (lowest since 2022), making her path to a fifth title brutal, to put it mildly. The Pole could run into Emma Raducanu in the second round, No. 26 Marta Kostyuk in the third and No. 12 Elena Rybakina or No. 21 Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth. She is infamously 0-2 against Rybakina on clay, and 0-6 overall to Ostapenko, including two losses this year. Even if she can escape the brutal draw, she’d have to deal with the red-hot Paolini or Sabalenka in the latter stages.
Will Alcaraz continue to have Sinner’s number?
Since Sept. 27, 2023, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is 1-4 against Alcaraz and 104-5 against the rest of the pack. Even more stunningly, his only two losses on the Tour since August (41-2) have come against the Spaniard. At the recent Rome final, Alcaraz ended Sinner’s 26-match winning streak, improving his head-to-head record against the Italian to 7-4. The loss also marked Sinner’s first straight-sets loss since 2023, a testament to his dominance of every player not named Alcaraz. It’s clear that Alcaraz has Sinner’s number and should be favored to win if they collide in the final of the French Open.
Honorable mention: Novak Djokovic returns to Paris
Last August, the Serb captured his first Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics to complete the career ‘Golden Slam.’ Djokovic referred to the win as his “biggest sporting success,” which shocked many, considering his record 24 majors and other achievements. Could the happy memories of Paris propel Djokovic to his 25th major title? Recent form is not in his favor. The 38-year-old suffered back-to-back early losses in Monte Carlo and Madrid, and won just the solitary title in 2024 (his worst year as a pro since 2005). Still, counting out the three-time Roland-Garros champion would be foolish.
