Roland Garros draw: Swiatek finds Raducanu, Ostapenko, Rybakina in her path
The 2025 Roland Garros draw is out, and defending champion Iga Swiatek faces a difficult path in her quest for a fifth Coupe Suzanne Lenglen trophy.
Seeded No. 5, her lowest at a Slam since the 2022 Australian Open, Swiatek hasn’t reached a final since winning the trophy in Paris last year. She opens against Rebecca Sramkova, with a possible second-round match against either Emma Raducanu or Wang Xinyu. No. 26 seed Marta Kostyuk looms in the third round, while potential fourth-round opponents include No. 12 Elena Rybakina and No. 21 Jelena Ostapenko -- who holds a 6-0 record against Swiatek.
Swiatek is in the same quarter of the draw as No. 4 seed and last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini, fresh off her second WTA 1000 title in Rome. They are in the same half of the draw as No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka, who opens against Kamilla Rakhimova. Sabalenka has also landed in a section full of landmines: No. 27 seed Leylah Fernandez, Danielle Collins or Olga Danilovic could be third-round opponents, while either No. 16 seed Amanda Anisimova or No. 22 seed Clara Tauson could await in the last 16. Sabalenka is projected to face No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen, her conqueror in Rome last week, in the quarterfinals.
No. 2 seed Coco Gauff opens against Olivia Gadecki and is projected to face Australian Open champion and No. 7 seed Madison Keys in the quarterfinals. No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula and No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva head the third quarter, which contains another popcorn first round between No. 10 seed Paula Badosa and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka.
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First quarter
For the first time in her career, Sabalenka arrives in Paris as the best player in the world -- by some distance. She has won a tour-leading three titles this season so far, including a third trophy in Madrid three weeks ago. She's the reigning US Open champion, and was also a finalist at the Australian Open in January. Can she convert that dominance into a first Roland Garros title?
Her quarter contains a number of dangerous players with a variety of records against Sabalenka. She's dominated the head-to-head against Collins 7-0, but trails Anisimova 5-2. A potential third round against Fernandez would be their first meeting since the Canadian memorably upset Sabalenka in the 2021 US Open semifinals. Tauson and Zheng both defeated her in their most recent encounters this year, in Dubai and Rome respectively.
Zheng will have to navigate a few players of note to make her potential quarterfinal date with Sabalenka. She takes on 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round; next could be Miami semifinalist Alexandra Eala, who will make her Grand Slam main-draw debut against Emiliana Arango. Rome semifinalist Peyton Stearns, seeded for the first time at a major at No. 28, is slated to meet Zheng in the third round; No. 11 seed Diana Shnaider is projected in the last 16.
Meanwhile, Petra Kvitova will return to the Grand Slam stage for the first time since returning from maternity leave against Viktorija Golubic, with the winner to face either Anisimova or a qualifier.
First-round matches to watch: [1] Aryna Sabalenka vs. Kamilla Rakhimova, Olga Danilovic vs. [27] Leylah Fernandez, [22] Clara Tauson vs. Magda Linette, [SR] Petra Kvitova vs. Viktorija Golubic, [28] Peyton Stearns vs. Eva Lys, Alexandra Eala vs. Emiliana Arango, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. [8] Zheng Qinwen
Second quarter
Despite the big names in Swiatek’s section, the former World No.1 holds the head-to-head edge over most. She’s yet to drop a set to either Raducanu or Kostyuk in seven combined meetings, and though she trails Rybakina 4-3 overall, Swiatek has won both of their matches this season. The exception remains 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko, who owns a 6-0 record against her.
With Rybakina and Ostapenko potentially looming in the fourth round, Swiatek’s path isn’t easy, but the draw may have lightened slightly with the withdrawal of Belinda Bencic, who had originally been scheduled to face Rybakina in the first round.
Paolini, fresh off a confidence-boosting title on home soil in Rome, could face hard-hitting Australian teenager Maya Joint in the second round, No. 29 seed Linda Noskova in the third and No. 13 seed Elina Svitolina in the fourth. Svitolina, a four-time quarterfinalist in Paris, defeated Paolini at the Australian Open in January in their only previous meeting.
First-round matches to watch: Anastasia Potapova vs. [29] Linda Noskova, Zeynep Sonmez vs. [13] Elina Svitolina, [WC] Iva Jovic vs. Renata Zarazua, Emma Raducanu vs. Wang Xinyu
Third quarter
Between Pegula and Andreeva in the third quarter lies several accomplished players on the comeback trail from injury. Pegula's projected fourth-round opponent, No. 14 seed and 2023 finalist Karolina Muchova, has not played since Miami due to a left wrist problem. Their section also contains three unseeded former Top 10 players who have all suffered shoulder injuries of late.
Marketa Vondrousova, the 2019 finalist, underwent shoulder surgery last year, and has not competed since February because of the same issue. Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari both ended their 2024 seasons early due to shoulder problems, and have struggled to regain peak form on their return; they are down at No. 35 and No. 92 in the PIF WTA Rankings respectively. Jabeur also suffered a leg injury in Miami, and has not won a match since -- though a fourth-round run in Madrid showed some promise for Sakkari.
Jabeur opens against No. 25 seed Magdalena Frech, with Vondrousova potentially awaiting in the second round in what would be a rematch of the 2023 Wimbledon final. Whoever emerges from that could face Pegula in the third round. Meanwhile, Muchova and Sakkari could meet in the second round if they defeat Alycia Parks and Elsa Jacquemot respectively.
Andreeva, the winner of two WTA 1000 titles already this year, opens against Cristina Bucsa and is projected to face another player on the comeback trail, No. 10 seed Paula Badosa, in the last 16. Badosa has been sidelined for two months due to a recurrence of her back injury, only returning this week in Strasbourg. Indeed, her first round against Osaka marks unfinished business between the two. They were scheduled to meet in the second round of Rome two weeks ago before Badosa withdrew just half an hour ahead of the match.
First-round matches to watch: [17] Daria Kasatkina vs. Katerina Siniakova, Naomi Osaka vs. [10] Paula Badosa, [14] Karolina Muchova vs. Alycia Parks, [WC] Lois Boisson vs. [24] Elise Mertens, [25] Magdalena Frech vs. Ons Jabeur
Fourth quarter
It's possible to draw both positives and negatives from Gauff's clay season so far. From the glass-half-full perspective, there's no arguing with back-to-back WTA 1000 finals in Madrid and Rome, particularly given that the former US Open champion had failed to make the semifinals in her six prior tournaments. On the other hand, back-to-back losses in finals would have been unwelcome for a player who had previously won nine of her 10 tour-level title matches.
Gauff, the 2022 finalist in Paris, has a manageable draw to build on her recent form. She is slated to face No. 15 seed Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round; the Wimbledon champion has only just returned from a six-month hiatus with a back injury this week in Strasbourg. The other Top 20 seed in Gauff's section, No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova, started 2025 in hot form but withdrew from Rome and Strasbourg due to a shoulder injury.
Keys, a semifinalist here in 2018, has yet to reach a final following her Australian Open title run -- though the American's power game, bolstered by the confidence of a Grand Slam trophy, could well click on the major stage again. Another potential threat to Gauff is another compatriot, No. 9 seed Emma Navarro, who defeated her at two Grand Slams last year.
First-round matches to watch: Varvara Gracheva vs. [31] Sofia Kenin, [23] Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Hailey Baptiste, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs. [9] Emma Navarro, [15] Barbora Krejcikova vs. Tatjana Maria, [30] Anna Kalinskaya vs. Marie Bouzkova
