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The three-time champion has not played competitive tennis since suffering a first-round defeat to Naomi Osaka in Miami, having also been knocked out early of the Indian Wells Masters on her return from giving birth.
Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou acknowledged last week that the 23-time Grand Slam champion made her comeback too soon, but insisted she is heading to Paris to win.
And the 36-year-old was on Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday, having also practiced on the red dirt a day earlier.Williams, who travelled to Paris after attending the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle in London on Saturday, opted not to play at the Madrid Open or the Internazionali d’Italia in the buildup to the second major of the season, instead training at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy.Last year’s men’s champion, Rafael Nadal, will return to defend his title and go for his record 11th French Open trophy. Nadal, currently ranked No. 1 in the world, has battled with Roger Federer for the top spot throughout the year and just reclaimed it with his win in Rome. Federer has since withdrawn from the clay court circuit though and won’t be playing in the French Open for the third straight year, leaving the door open for Nadal to take the title at Roland Garros.
MORE: Serena Williams’ 2018 schedule
In the WTA, all eyes will be on Serena Williams as she participates in her first Grand Slam event since the 2017 Australian Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has understandably been shaking off rust in her most recent tournaments. She made it to the third round at Indian Wells before losing to sister Venus and was ousted in the opening round of the Miami Open.
Last year’s winner, Jelena Ostapenko, has climbed her way to No. 5 in the WTA rankings. The player she defeated, Simona Halep, will likely come in with the No. 1 ranking, and after losing the 2018 Australian Open to Caroline Wozniacki, will look to finally win her first career Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
Below is the schedule by round, the men’s and women’s draws and how to watch the French Open.
French Open schedule
The opening round of the French Open is set to begin on Sunday, May 27, at 5 a.m. ET. The tournament will take place almost daily over the next two weeks and will conclude with the championship match on Sunday, June 10. Below is the round-by-round breakdown of the schedule for both men and women.South Africa’s Kevin Anderson has been seeded sixth for the French Open which starts at Roland Garros on Sunday.
The 32-year-old, who is enjoying a career-high seventh in the ATP singles rankings released on Monday, is aiming to bounce back at this year’s second Grand Slam after being forced to retire last year.
Anderson, who has had greater success on the grass courts of Wimbledon and hard courts in Australia and New York, has only reached the fourth round in Paris on three occasions.
But it just wasn’t meant to be in 2017 when he was forced to call it a day in the second set against Croatia’s Marin Cilic due to a hamstring injury.
The 2017 US Open runner-up opened his clay court season as the top seed at the Estoril Open earlier this month but crashed out in the second round to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Florida-based South African, who turned 32 last Friday, quickly put that defeat behind him when he powered his way to the semifinals of the Madrid Open two weeks ago. He eventually fell to Austria’s Dominic Thiem in straight sets, but the outing did Anderson’s confidence the world of good ahead of the French Open.The French Open organizers won’t offer special treatment to Serena Williams should she make the trip to Roland Garros in Paris this summer.
“This year again, tournament officials will establish the list and ranking of the women’s seeds based on the WTA ranking,” the French Tennis Federation said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). “Consequently, [the seeds] will reflect this week’s world ranking.”
Williams has competed in just two WTA events this year after returning to the court following the birth of her daughter. Because of that, as well as her absence for almost the entire 2017 campaign, she sits No. 453 in the WTA rankings.
Both Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep lobbied on Williams’ behalf for her to earn a seed at the 2018 French Open.
Sharapova said returning from pregnancy requires “an incredible effort” that can tax a player physically and emotionally, while Halep said it’s “normal to give birth” and “good to protect the ranking when someone is giving birth.”
Williams won the 2015 French Open and was the runner-up in 2016. Failing to be seeded this season will leave her hopes of a fourth French Open title in serious jeopardy.
Williams received a wild card entry for her return at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, in March. As a result, she played No. 29 Kiki Bertans in the second round and sister Venus, who was seeded eighth, in the third round. Serena lost to Venus in straight sets. In her next event, the Miami Open, a meeting with fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina awaited Williams if she had defeated Naomi Osaka in the first round.
Something similar could happen again at the French Open without the luxury of a seeding designation.
