Photo credit: ROLEX
Terre battue doesn’t talk, but its message is clear at this Roland Garros.
The top half of the 2025 Roland Garros men’s draw is a danger zone that will see several seeds face demanding duels from the opening round.
The Roland Garros draws were conducted today in Paris.
Carlos Alcaraz is the reigning Roland Garros men’s champion. Four-time French Open women’s champion Iga Swiatek plays for an Open Era record fourth consecutive women’s crown and her first final since she swept Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 title match.
Three men, including Matteo Berrettini and David Goffin, withdrew from the drew, which means the 128-man Roland Garros draw will feature 19 players from the qualifying draw.
Roland Garros main-draw action starts Sunday, May 25th.
Monte-Carlo and Rome champion Alcaraz arrives in Paris as the world’s premier player on natural surfaces. Alcaraz is 27-2 on red clay since last May, including a 15-1 mark on dirt this season and says that success infuses him with confidence.
“It’s been a great clay season so far, but we are here at the most important tournament of the clay season and one of the best tournaments we have on tour,” Alcaraz said at today’s draw ceremony. “So I’m excited. I remember the emotion and feeling I had last year—it is great to feel it again.
“The confidence is really high right now. Obviously I’ve been playing great matches. I’ve got great wins in this clay season. So I’m excited.”
Alcaraz will need to summon the excitement and energy from first ball as he faces former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori for the first time in the first round. Should Alcaraz prevail, he could meet Budapest-born Fabian Marozsan, who flew through the final six straight points shocking Alcaraz 6-3, 7-6(4) in a seismic red clay upset at the 2023 Rome. A possible third-round showdown with the biggest server in the sport, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, could await Alcaraz in the opening week.
Here is the second-seeded Spaniard’s potential path to defending his Roland Garros championship.
Round 1: Kei Nishikori (JPN)
Round 2: Fabian Marozsan (HUN)
Round 3: (31) Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (FRA)
Round 4: (20) Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) or (13) Ben Shelton (USA)
Quarterfinals: (7) Casper Ruud (NOR)
Semifinals: (4) Taylor Fritz (USA) or (8) Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)
Final: (1) Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Though Alcaraz’s red clay road offers its share of potholes, on paper it’s a smoother ride than what the top-ranked Sinner, former No. 1 Djokovic and 2024 finalist Alexander Zverev each face. Djokovic Faces Hard Red Road
Novak Djokovic out-dueled Carlos Alcaraz to realize his Olympic gold-medal dream on Roland Garros’ red clay last August.
The gold-medal champion will require heavy mettle if he is to reach an eighth French Open final.
Djokovic celebrates his 38th birthday today but keeping the party pumping in Paris could be problematic.
Three-time Roland Garros champion Djokovic will need to beat the top three seeds in succession (if seeds hold true to form): No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to capture the French Open crown he last won in 2023.
Djokovic, who beat Marton Fucsovics in Geneva yesterday to snap a three-match losing streak and score his first clay win of the season, is chasing both a record-extending 25 career Grand Slam championship and a 100th career Roland Garros match win.
Carrying a 96-16 Roland Garros career mark into Paris, here is the Serbian superstar’s potential path to the final.
Round 1: Mackenzie McDonald (USA)
Round 2: Corentin Moutet (FRA)
Round 3: (27) Denis Shapovalov (CAN) or Pedro Martinez (ESP)
Round 4: (11) Daniil Medvedev or (22) Ugo Humbert (FRA)
Quarterfinals: (3) Alexander Zverev (GER)
Semifinals: (1) Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Final: (2) Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) Dark Horses
We definite dark horses as players outside of the Top 10 seeds.
(12) Tommy Paul (USA)
When his truck was repossessed from his Florida home, it fueled Tommy Paul’s run to the Rome semifinals where he pushed world No. 1 Jannik Sinner to three sets. Paul’s all-court acumen and variety can be unsettling on dirt and though his forehand is not as big as other contender, Paul did test potential fourth-round foe Casper Ruud in a five-set French Open loss in 2020.
Joao Fonseca (BRA)
The 18-year-old Brazilian is the youngest man in the ATP Top 100—and already one of the game’s most explosive baseliners. Fonseca is a supremely-talented shotmaker with a rocket-launcher forehand, who is still raw and has not had great success on dirt this year. Yet when he’s on, Fonseca is a fan favorite and a threat, including against first-round opponent Hubert Hurkacz.
(14) Arthur Fils (FRA)
It’s been 42 years since Yannik Noah beat Mats Wilander in the 1983 French Open final and the flashy Noah remains the last Frenchman to raise the La Coupe des Mousquetaires. While it’s unlikely Fils will break that French winless streak this year given he faces big-serving Nicolas Jarry in his opener and would face No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the fourth round if seeds hold true, Fils can fire phenomenal forehand strikes from anywhere on the court, he’s quick around the court, explosive on the run and could ride the wave of support from home fans to inspired play. The 20-year-old Frenchman has yet to win a main-draw French Open match, but Fils did contest the Wimbledon fourth round last July. First-Rounders to Watch
(1) Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. Arthur Rinderknech (FRA)
(2) Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. Kei Nishikori (JPN)
(14) Arthur Fils (FRA) vs. Nicolas Jarry (CHI)
(19) Jakub Mensik (CZE) vs. Alexandre Muller (FRA)
(30) Hubert Hurkacz (POL) vs. Joao Fonseca (BRA)
(3) Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Learner Tien (USA)
Jacob Fearnley (GBR) vs. (WC) Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
(10) Holger Rune (DEN) vs. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)