Intrigue surrounds the women’s singles field at Roland Garros, with several unseeded players waiting to challenge seeded opponents. The draw ceremony takes place on Thursday at 2pm.
Zheng’s Comeback
Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medallist, is rebuilding her game after elbow surgery in 2025. Currently ranked No.53, Zheng has a 10-4 record at Roland-Garros and reached the quarterfinals last year.
Her past results, including a semifinal victory over then-world No.1 Iga Swiatek at the 2024 Paris Olympics, indicate she could be a threat.
Ones to Watch
Bartunkova, a former Roland-Garros girls’ semifinalist, reached her first tour semifinal last season. She also made it to the third round at the Australian Open, defeating Belinda Bencic, and the round of 16 in Rome, upsetting Madison Keys.
Eala, the first Filipina to crack the WTA’s top 50, will compete for her first Roland-Garros win this year. Since her Miami semis breakthrough in 2025, the 20-year-old has achieved six top 20 and four top 10 wins.
Valentova, a junior champion in Paris in 2024, is transitioning to the pro tour and enters the draw ranked No.43. Last year, she qualified for the main draw and won her first match before losing to Coco Gauff.
Krejcikova’s Parisian History
Krejcikova, a two-time major title winner, previously won Roland-Garros as an unseeded player in 2021, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Although the 30-year-old’s form isn’t at its peak, she reached a 125k final in Parma last week.
Other Contenders
Sonmez, the highest-ranked Turkish player in history, aims to achieve success in Paris. The world No.59 debuted at Roland-Garros in 2024 but is yet to win a match on the Parisian terre battue. She has reached the third round at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
Sakkari, who was one point away from reaching the final in Paris in 2021 but lost to Krejcikova, has struggled on the Parisian clay since. At 30 years of age the former world No.3 is hoping to turn her fortunes around.
The unseeded players in this year’s draw could cause problems for seeded players in week one.