Roland Garros Day 5 preview: Gauff faces teen qualifier, Azarenka meets Kenin
Six months after winning her second consecutive title at the Australian Open, Victoria Azarenka View Profile ran all the way to the semifinals in Paris. That, believe it or not, was a dozen years ago.
Earlier this week, at the venerable age of 35, she crafted a 6-0, 6-0 first-round victory over Yanina Wickmayer. That made Azarenka the oldest woman in the more than a half-century of the Open Era to achieve that level of perfection. The last time she did that at Roland Garros? Nearly 17 years ago against Sorana Cirstea View Profile .
Roland Garros: Scores | Order of play | Draw
On Thursday, Azarenka will be one of six former Grand Slam champions in second-round action from the bottom half of the draw. As luck would have it, she’ll meet another major winner, Sofia Kenin View Profile .
Five of the Top 10 seeds remain in play, so let’s get to the matches:
No. 2 Coco Gauff View Profile vs. qualifier Tereza Valentova View Profile
Head-to-head: 0-0.
You can’t do your job without the proper tools, but Gauff walked on court for her first-round match with an empty racquet bag.
oops, forgot the last one pic.twitter.com/ajqcgFg6mn
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) May 27, 2025
“After that, maybe it probably relaxed me going into the match, because it was just such a funny thing,” Gauff said after beating Olivia Gadecki View Profile 6-2, 6-2. “I’m just happy to get through today and I will remember my racquets for next time.”
Next time features an 18-year-old Czech qualifier who defeated French wild card Chloe Paquet View Profile in three sets. Valentova began the year ranked No. 242, but with success in ITF events is up to No. 177.
Gauff, once a teenage prodigy herself, comes in with all kinds of confidence. She’s at a career-high No. 2 ranking and has won more matches on clay (12) than anyone except Elina Svitolina View Profile and Aryna Sabalenka View Profile .
No. 3 Jessica Pegula View Profile vs. Ann Li View Profile
Head-to-head: 1-0, Li.
Pegula is ranked 52 spots ahead of her fellow American, but Li won their only previous match -- seven years ago in Lexington, Kentucky.
Since then, Pegula’s become a perennial Top 5 player and a seven-time major quarterfinalist. One of those came at Roland Garros in 2022. Pegula moved her record in Paris to 9-5 with a straight-sets win over Anca Todoni View Profile . Li was a 6-4, 6-0 winner over Maria Lourdes Carle View Profile .
No. 6 Mirra Andreeva View Profile vs. Ashlyn Krueger View Profile
Head-to-head: 0-0.
It seems the 18-year-old Andreeva has always been ahead of her time, but here’s a comparison that is eye-opening: In the past four decades, only two women have won more matches in their first 10 tries at Roland Garros -- Monica Seles and Iga Swiatek View Profile , both at 9-1, one better than Andreeva’s 8-2.
She’s already won WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Indian Wells and was a semifinalist here a year ago.
Krueger, at 21, has been impressive. She was a finalist this year in Abu Dhabi, and her ranking of No. 35 left her just outside the seeding.
No. 7 Madison Keys View Profile vs. Katie Boulter View Profile
Head-to-head: 0-0.
Keys, the champion of the season’s first Grand Slam in Australia, won her eighth consecutive major match by a 6-2, 6-1 count over qualifier Daria Saville View Profile . Keys is 6-3 on clay this season and reached the quarterfinals in Madrid.
Boulter came back to defeat Carole Monnet View Profile 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1. She lost two of three matches in Madrid and Rome, but a few weeks ago ran the table, winning five straight, at the Trophee Clarins, a WTA 125 on red clay in Paris.
Madison has the keys to the second round 🔑#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/WNwwPIvhPd
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 26, 2025
No. 10 Paula Badosa View Profile vs. Elena-Gabriela Ruse View Profile
Head-to-head: 1-1, with Ruse winning three years ago in Dubai and Badosa prevailing in the 2024 US Open -- both matches went three sets.
After sitting out with a back injury, Badosa posted a first-round win over Naomi Osaka View Profile . The score was 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4, and Badosa was thrilled with her level of play -- and her body’s response to the difficult test.
Ruse, meanwhile, was a 7-5, 7-6 (3) winner over McCartney Kessler.
No. 31 Sofia Kenin View Profile vs. Victoria Azarenka View Profile
Head-to-head: 2-1, Azarenka, with her most recent win coming two years ago in Melbourne.
Seven years after Azarenka won her second Australian Open title, Kenin collected the 2020 crown. That same year, she reached the final here at Roland Garros. After reaching the final on green clay in Charleston, Kenin has gone 2-3 on the red stuff.
Azarenka is hoping for a repeat of her 12-for-12 first-round match, but Kenin will be a tough out.
Other notable matches:
No. 15 Barbora Krejcikova View Profile vs. Veronika Kudermetova View Profile
No. 17 Daria Kasatkina View Profile vs. Leolia Jeanjean View Profile
No. 20 Ekaterina Alexandrova View Profile vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto View Profile
No. 25 Magdalena Frech View Profile vs. Marketa Vondrousova View Profile
