The draw for the 2026 French Open takes place this afternoon with Italy’s Jannik Sinner hotly tipped to take the crown at Roland Garros.
Sinner is the No.1 seed on the men’s side of the draw with defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, out of the tournament due to a wrist injury. In his absence Novak Djokovic perhaps provides the best chance of stopping Sinner from completing a career grand slam and is on the hunt for a record 25 major win.
In the women’s draw, Coco Gauff is back to defend the title she won a year ago and will take on fellow American Taylor Townsend. Gauff has had a difficult clay court season and lost to Elina Svitolina in the final of the Italian Open just five days ago but will be hoping to improve again at Roland Garros. Elsewhere, Aryna Sabalenka, the No.1 seed, was drawn against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain while, Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu will face Argentina’s Solana Sierra in the first round.
Follow the draw for the French Open with our live blog below:
French Open draw live
- The draw for the 2026 French Open takes place at 1pm BST
- Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn with injury leaving Jannik Sinner as No.1 seed
- Coco Gauff looks to defend women's title against strong challengers
French Open draw live
13:26 , Mike Jones
There’s a pause in the coverage as the women’s draw is verified to have been performed correctly.
We’ll have more reaction from that draw shortly.
French Open draw live
13:22 , Mike Jones
Now the seeded players will be added into the draw.
Aryna Sabalenka is drawn against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro as expected.
The defending women’s champion, Coco Gauff, will take on an American compatriot in Taylor Townsend first up.
French Open draw live
13:17 , Mike Jones
Emma Raducanu is on the opposite side of the draw to Boulter and will face off against Argentina’s Solana Sierra.
GB’s Francesca Jones has a difficult opening round and faces Beatriz Maia Haddad.
French Open draw live
13:15 , Mike Jones
Britain’s Katie Boulter, meanwhile, has been draw against Akasha Urhobo of the United States who is a wildcard for the first round.
French Open draw live
13:14 , Mike Jones
So, for the women’s tournament the non seeded players are entered into the draw via the computer programme.
It looks as though Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain will take on the No.1 seed.
French Open draw live
13:12 , Mike Jones
Moretton gives a speech, in French, outlining the majesty that is Roland Garros and the French Open including many of the previous champions such as Rafael Nadal.
Remy Azemar is now introduced onto the stage to run the through the first of the two draws.
That will be the women’s draw and there will be 16 qualifiers in the draw. Seeds 1 and 2 will be placed on either side of the draw.
French Open draw live
13:08 , Mike Jones
Gilles Moretton, the FTF president comes onto the stage to introduce the start of the draw.
French Open draw live
13:03 , Mike Jones
Okay, it’s almost time for the draw which can be viewed and streamed on Roland Garros’ YouTube channel.
The coverage begins with a video recapping the recent tournaments and the tennis legends that have played at Roland Garros.
It’s set to emotive music and it’s working. What a start.
French Open draw live
13:00 , Mike Jones
The draw is about to take place for both the men’s an women’s competitions.
French Tennis Federation President Gilles Moretton, Director of the French Open, Amélie Mauresmo, and three-time Olympic canoeing gold medallist, Tony Estanguet are in attendance for the draw.
French Open players to stage media protest amid row over prize money
12:54 , Mike Jones
Tennis players competing at the French Open are set to scale back their media engagements ahead of the Grand Slam, in a coordinated protest over their share of the tournament’s prize money.
A collective of players has specifically targeted the upcoming clay-court event, alleging that their portion of revenue has been reduced to 14.3 per cent, a stark contrast to the 22 per cent offered at other ATP and WTA tournaments.
French Open players to stage media protest amid row over prize money
Goffin says goodbye to Roland Garros
12:48 , Mike Jones
David Goffin said goodbye to Roland Garros Wednesday when the Belgian wild card fell to Toby Samuel in the second round of qualifying at the clay major.
“It’s pure joy, nothing but emotions, with some magnificent moments," Goffin said.
“Amazing matches, beautiful courts, superb atmospheres. I’ve always been welcomed here like one of yours. Like a champion, like a prince. Thank you very much.”
Raducanu in good place despite defeat
12:42 , Mike Jones
Emma Raducanu’s first match in two months ended in a narrow defeat to wily Frenchwoman Diane Parry at the WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg.
Raducanu had won their only previous meeting, a Billie Jean King Cup qualifier two years ago also on clay, in three sets, and this proved another tight encounter.
The British No 1 was playing in her first tournament since a third-round defeat at Indian Wells, having struggled to recover from a viral illness over the spring, and had not made a clay-court appearance until now.
Despite the straight-sets defeat this was a positive display for 23-year-old Raducanu, whose fitness held up despite her lengthy layoff, although she remains short of match practice going into the French Open, which begins on Sunday 24 May.
Carlos Alcaraz out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon
12:36 , Mike Jones
The big blow for tennis fans this year is that Carlos Alcaraz will not be playing at Roland Garros or Wimbledon as he seeks to recover from a wrist injury.
Alcaraz’s battles with Jannik Sinner were the highlight of last year’s majors with the French Open clash in particular setting the tennis world alight.
Speaking of his rival’s decision to withdraw, Sinner said: “Tennis needs Carlos, tennis is a much better sport when he’s around.
“But being young, going through difficult moments, it can happen. I do believe he’s going to come back stronger than before. But injuries are always tough, especially a wrist.
“There’s certain areas of our body what are very sensitive. The wrist, we saw with also other players in the past that they can complicate our life. So I hope he’s going to come back and he will not have any further injuries.”
Jannik Sinner dominates Italian Open to match Novak Djokovic with Masters sweep
12:30 , Mike Jones
Jannik Sinner became only the second player to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles after beating Casper Ruud in straight sets in the Italian Open final.
World No 1 Sinner followed in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic by defeating Ruud 6-4 6-4 in front of a delighted home crowd in Rome.
Jannik Sinner dominates Italian Open to match Novak Djokovic with Masters sweep
Men's major absences
12:24 , Mike Jones
The big name missing is reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz, who has missed out on the second half of the clay season - pulling out of Barcelona and Madrid - and will also skip the grass season.
Lorenzo Musetti has withdrawn, with former champion Stan Wawrinka receiving his place in the main draw rather than a wildcard, as he had previously been allocated.
Fellow young stars Holger Rune and Jack Draper are also absent as they continue to recover from injuries.
Men's seeds
12:18 , Mike Jones
- Jannik Sinner ITA
- Alexander Zverev GER
- Novak Djokovic SRB
- Felix Auger-Aliassime CAN
- Ben Shelton USA
- Alex de Minaur AUS
- Taylor Fritz USA
- Daniil Medvedev
- Alexander Bublik KAZ
- Casper Ruud NOR
- Jiri Lehecka CZE
- Karen Khachanov
- Andrey Rublev
- Flavio Cobolli ITA
- Valentin Vacherot MON
- Tommy Paul USA
- Francisco Cerundolo ARG
- Frances Tiafoe USA
- Luciano Darderi ITA
- Learner Tien USA
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina ESP
- Cameron Norrie GBR
- Jakub Mensik CZE
- Arthur Rinderknech FRA
- Tomas Martin Etcheverry ARG
- Arthur Fils FRA
- Corentin Moutet FRA
- Tallon Griekspoor NED
- Brandon Nakashima USA
- Ugo Humbert FRA
- Joao Fonseca BRA
- Alex Michelsen USA
Women's draw major absences
12:12 , Mike Jones
The women’s draw features a stacked field, with all the top 32 in the WTA rankings set to compete in Paris.
Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, who has been charged with refusing a doping control test and revealed she had experienced an acute stress reaction during the incident, is not playing.
Britain’s Sonay Kartal is out of the remainder of the clay season due to a back injury.
Women’s seeds
12:06 , Mike Jones
- Aryna Sabalenka
- Elena Rybakina KAZ
- Iga Swiatek POL
- Coco Gauff USA
- Jessica Pegula USA
- Amanda Anisimova USA
- Elina Svitolina UKR
- Mirra Andreeva
- Victoria Mboko CAN
- Karolina Muchova CZE
- Belinda Bencic SUI
- Linda Noskova CZE
- Jasmine Paolini ITA
- Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Marta Kostyuk UKR
- Naomi Osaka JPN
- Iva Jovic USA
- Sorana Cirstea ROU
- Madison Keys USA
- Liudmila Samsonova
- Clara Tauson DEN
- Anna Kalinskaya
- Elise Mertens BEL
- Leylah Fernandez CAN
- Diana Shnaider
- Hailey Baptiste USA
- Marie Bouzkova CZE
- Anastasia Potapova AUT
- Jelena Ostapenko LAT
- Ann Li USA
- Cristina Bucsa ESP
- Xinyu Wang CHN
When is the French Open draw?
12:00 , Mike Jones
The French Open draw will take place on Thursday 21 May at 2pm local time, which is 1pm UK time.
Good afternoon!
11:48 , Mike Jones
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of today’s French Open draw.
Both the men’s and women’s draws will be made this afternoon and the big names will discover who their first round opponents will be.
Jannik Sinner is the favourite to win the men’s title after Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal with Coco Gauff looking to defend her victory from 2025 in the women’s tournament.
We’ll have all the updates throughout the afternoon so stick around.
