The fact that the French Open started this weekend excites people from all around the world. And us as well. Although Wimbledon is considered the biggest tennis tournament, Roland Garros holds a special place in our hearts. Some of our biggest betting wins were here.
Clay is a specific surface that neutralizes the first serve and hard shots in general. That’s why big players who rely on serve and tough strokes play much worse here than on hard surfaces. Also, the matches on clay last longer than others and are physically more demanding. The rallies are longer and there is plenty of running included. Also, breakpoints are far more frequent on clay than on any other turf.
This article will include a preview of both the ladies and the men’s part of the draw. We will list top favorites, some darkhorses and bring some notable information.
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Women’s 2025 French Open Preview
Despite Aryna Sabalenka being favored by the bookmakers to win the trophy, Iga Swiatek looks like the No.1 contender in Paris. No matter her recent poor form and exiting the Italian Open in the round of 32, or losing to Coco Gauff while winning just two games. The Pole needs to be considered as the biggest “clay” name here. After all, she won the last three titles here, four in the past five years.
big day for alcaraz & sabalenka nation pic.twitter.com/i2TTIlstLH
— Carlos Alcaraz (@alcarchive) May 23, 2025
Sabalenka is firing on all cylinders, and she wants it all now. The title in Madrid boosts her confidence, and the Belarus player seeks redemption for her loss in the finals in Melbourne.
Gauff and Mirra Andreeva are also in the mix. The American showed solid form on clay reaching two finals, both Masters, in Rome and Madrid. She did lose both but performed excellently. Plus, you know the saying, third time’s a charm.
Andreeva won the Indian Wells, becoming the youngest Masters champion in WTA history. She lost to Gauff in both Rome and Madrid, yet we need to say that her performances on clay are promising.
Other players to look up are Jasmine Paolini, Qinwen Zheng, and, in our personal opinion, Elina Svitolina. The latter has what it takes to excel here, plus the Ukrainian is well-experienced.
Men’s 2025 French Open Preview
The odds suggest the battle between two young lions, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The first beat his rival recently, taking the title in Rome, in Sinner’s backyard. We are very interested to see Sinner’s reception in Paris following his doping ban. Carlos is the champion here, though Sinner is better placed in the ATP rankings.
Novak Djokovic is way behind the dup, with the Serb struggling to gain consistency this year. Though, he is coming off a win in Geneva, where he beat Hurkacz in the finals. That was his 100th title, and a good swing before coming to Paris. Ah, don’t forget that he won the Olympic gold last year here.
✨ Legendary ✨#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/XEos6gep6R
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2025
Alexander Zverev is a big enigma. For some, he is a dark horse; for others, no threat. He has one title this year, in Munich on clay, yet apart from that, the German wasn’t near the silverware. Casper Ruud might be the one who jumps out, though, after winning Madrid, he was severely beaten by Sinner in Rome.
Our dark horse is Jack Draper. He won the Indian Wells tournament and reached the finals of the Madrid Open. In Rome, the Aussi ended his tournament in the quarterfinals. Draper progresses sharply, and since the second half of the previous year, he has risen to the No. 5 place in the ATP rankings.
