Roland Garros Day 3 preview: Big-stage returns for Gauff, Pegula and Andreeva
This year at Roland Garros, Coco Gauff knows what time it is.
“I would definitely think it’s pretty open,” the World No. 2 said before this French Open began. “I mean, obviously I hope that I’m up there, but there is obviously like Jasmine, Aryna, Iga, Qinwen, Mirra. There’s some more I can name that all have the opportunity.
“Who knows? We all have seen things like US Open happen when Emma won. So there is literally anybody can win this tournament.”
While we might not all be on a first-name basis with the potential stars of the coming fortnight, certainly Gauff has earned the right. If the tennis thing doesn’t work out, the 21-year-old American probably has a future in public relations or marketing.
Roland Garros: Scores | Order of play | Draw
“Everybody is playing some great tennis,” Gauff said. “I think this is why everyone should tune in, because I feel like it's maybe not so much on the men where maybe you have maybe the top three or four you know who’s going to win.
“I think women there’s so many possibilities so it makes each matchup equally exciting.”
A look at Tuesday’s best matches:
No. 2 Coco Gauff vs. Olivia Gadecki
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Maybe it’s because she trained at Patrick Mouratoglou’s Academy on the outskirts of Nice, France as a kid. Perhaps it’s the secret sauce of Steak Frites or just the ambience of the City of Light.
Whatever the reason, Gauff loves everything about Roland Garros. It’s the Grand Slam -- or any tournament -- where she has won the most matches (20). She’s 5-0 in opening matches and is angling to become the youngest woman to reach five consecutive quarterfinals since Martina Hingis from 1997-2001.
Gauff was also the youngest woman to reach the finals in both Madrid and Rome and, although the Australian is two years older, has an overwhelming edge in experience over Gadecki. She’s 1-5 in major main draws, but scored a Top 10 win against Sofia Kenin in 2021.
No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. Anca Todoni
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Here’s a statistic typical of Pegula’s late-blooming success: After going 2-6 in her first eight Grand Slam first rounds, the 31-year-old American is working on a sizzling 16-0 run. She’s only 8-5 for her career at Roland Garros -- but has never lost here to an unseeded player (7-0).
Pegula reached the quarterfinals in 2022 and is one of only six players to do it at all four Grand Slams over the past five years. Only Aryna Sabalenka (62 hours and 33 minutes) has spent more time on court than Pegula this season.
This will be the third career main-draw appearance for Todoni in a Grand Slam event after advancing to the second round last year at Wimbledon and the first round in Melbourne back in January.
No. 6 Mirra Andreeva vs. Cristina Bucsa
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Still a teenager at 18, Andreeva has already carved out an impressive legacy at the Slams. A year ago, she was the youngest semifinalist at the French Open since Martina Hingis in 1997, then she repeated that accomplishment at the US Open.
Andreeva, the youngest Top 6-seeded player on the women’s side since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007, has won seven of her eight first-round matches at the majors. Only Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula have won more WTA main-draw matches than Andreeva in 2025 (27, level with Iga Swiatek).
Bucsa has lost all 14 sets against Top 10 players.
No.14 Karolina Muchova vs. Alycia Parks
Head-to-head: 0-0.
This is the only major where Muchova has reached the final. Two years ago, she beat World No. 2 Sabalenka in the semifinals before falling to No. 1 Swiatek in a competitive three-set match.
Muchova, who hasn’t played since Miami, has been dogged by illness and injuries.
Parks has won two of her six opening matches at the majors; she fell to Marketa Vondrousova here two years ago.
No. 25 Magdalena Frech vs. Ons Jabeur
Head-to-head: 2-0, Jabeur, both in 2023 (Indian Wells, Wimbledon), but they’ve never played on clay.
Jabeur, 12-10 so far this year, reached the quarterfinals in Paris the past two years.
Frech, 6-13 for the season, defeated Victoria Azarenka in the first round at Rome before falling to Zheng Qinwen in the second.
Other notable matches:
No. 23 Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Hailey Baptiste
No. 30 Anna Kalinskaya vs. Marie Bouzkova
No. 31 Sofia Kenin vs. Varvara Gracheva
