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It felt like the beginning of the end of an era. French Open when Rafael Nadal Earlier this month, he announced his absence from the tournament.
Having struggled with a hip injury since the Australian Open, Nadal – a 14-time champion at Roland Garros – has missed the year’s second Grand Slam for the first time since his debut in 2005.
He also announced that next year will be his last year in professional tennis, which, when it comes, will be a defining moment in the history of the clay court major – a competition that Nadal has long dominated. what is
For now, the more important issue is who will win this year’s French Open in Paris when it starts on Sunday and ends on June 11.
In the United States, the French Open is available to watch on NBC, streaming service Peacock, Tennis Channel, and Bally Sports. In European territories other than France, the tournament is broadcast on Eurosport.
List of international Broadcasters And Full draw Available on the French Open website.
The top seed Carlos Alcaraz The clay-court specialist was unbeaten in 12 matches before a shock loss to world number 115 Fabian Marozsen at the Italian Open.
The 20-year-old will have to move past that if he is to claim his second major title. Novak Djokovic – the two-time French Open champion – in the semi-finals.
Victory in Paris would see Djokovic win his 23rd Grand Slam title and overtake Nadal on the men’s all-time list, further cementing his claim as the greatest male tennis player in history.
But the Serbian, who won the Australian Open earlier in the year, has struggled this clay-court season, failing to get past the quarterfinals of three events and missing another with an elbow injury.
“A new generation is already here,” Djokovic said After losing in the quarterfinals at the Italian Open.
“I mean, Alcaraz is No. 1 in the world. [May 22]. Obviously, he’s playing amazing tennis. I think it’s also good for our game that we have new faces, new people coming up. This is normal.
“We’ve been saying for years, that we can expect it to come, that the moment is going to come when your generations change.”
Djokovic’s failure to win a title since the Australian Open and Alcaraz’s shock defeat in Rome may have given some other challengers hope in Paris this year.
Daniel Medvedev – last week’s Italian Open champion – is in excellent form and has the advantage of being on the opposite side of the draw to Alcaraz and Djokovic.
Casper Rudd and Stefanos Tsitsipas, both former French Open finalists, will be hoping to make deep runs, while the sixth seed Holger cried A star for the future looks to knock out Djokovic at the Italian Open.
In the women’s draw, two-time French Open champion Iga Światek is the favourite, although she has not shown as much dominance on clay as last year, when she stormed to the title as part of a record-breaking, 37-match winning streak. received line
Aryna Sabalenka and Elina Rybakina, ranked second and fourth in the world respectively, have emerged as fierce rivals for Światek at the top of the women’s game, both beating the Polish star last month.
The trio, now referred to by some as the “Big Three”, have won the last four Grand Slams: Switek at the French and US Opens, Rybakina at Wimbledon and Sabalenka at Australia.
“The conditions in Paris should favor Switek, she feels comfortable there and is proving that she is definitely playing at the highest level of tennis.” said Eurosports expert and former World No. 7 Barbara Sheet ahead of the tournament.
“I think it’s good for Aega to have these two players. [Sabalenka and Rybakina] Who can challenge him and keep him at the No. 1 spot,” added Shett.
Switek, who has spent more than a year as world No. 1, could lose to top-ranked Sabalenka after the French Open. She begins her campaign against Spain’s Cristina Bocas.
Women’s tennis has been mired in controversy in recent weeks, bringing renewed attention to the scheduling of the women’s draw at Roland Garros.
i Madrid OpenOn the main court, ballgirls were instructed to wear crop tops and short skirts, and players were not allowed to speak after the match in the doubles final.
The ballgirls’ skirts were later swapped for long shorts – although crop tops remained – and tournament organizer Gerard Sobanian said it was “unacceptable” to not give the finalists a chance to speak to the fans at the end of their match. “is
Then at the Italian Open, the final between Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina was rescheduled due to rain and did not start until 11pm local time on Saturday – a situation which former player Renee Stubbs described As “disgusting”.
The WTA, however, said said in a statement to Reuters that moving the match to later was “the right thing to do”.
Questions about scheduling may persist in the coming weeks, just as the night session at last year’s French Open was scrutinized.
Only one of the 10 games scheduled as a night session in 2022 included a women’s match – the second-round match between Alize Cornet and Jelena Ostapenko. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo explained how men’s tennis has more “appeal” than the women’s game, to which Światek responded by calling Mauresmo’s comments “disappointing”.
There is no shortage of star appeal at this year’s French Open.
With the talented trio of Światek, Sabalenka, and Rybakina, his choice Jessica PegolaCaroline Garcia, Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur – none of whom have won a Grand Slam – will compete for the title at Roland-Garros.