French Open 2026: Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff chase clay greatness - schedule, stars and how to watch Roland-Garros live

From the City of Lights to the clay courts of Stade Roland-Garros, the 2026 French Open is bound to be one to remember.

The second Grand Slam tournament of the season is the grand conclusion of the clay swing, returning to the site of the tennis competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

After his spellbinding comeback in last year’s championship match, Carlos Alcaraz will not return to chase a third consecutive men’s singles title due to a wrist injury sustained last month.

The seven-time major champion is one of a host of male stars missing from Roland-Garros, including Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune and Jack Draper.

In the women’s singles draw, the USA’s Coco Gauff aims to become just the third player to defend the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen this century, after Olympic medallists Justine Henin and Iga Świątek.

The WTA Tour is at its most competitive level in recent memory, with five different Grand Slam winners in the previous five tournaments. There is also the return of Venus Williams after a five-year absence, as the four-time Olympic champion prepares to play the women’s doubles in Paris alongside breakthrough star Hailey Baptiste.

Here is what you need to know about this year’s French Open.

ATP Singles World Rankings - complete list: Sinner builds lead at the summit ahead of Alcaraz

WTA Singles World Rankings - complete list: Sabalenka leads the pack, Rybakina closes in

Roland-Garros 2026 - Jannik Sinner seeks redemption after gut-wrenching runner-up role

In a French Open men’s singles final for the ages last time out, there had to be a loser. That was somehow Jannik Sinner, who missed three championship points and was beaten in a super tiebreak after almost five and a half hours of tennis.

This year shows all the signs of Sinner exorcising his demons in the absence of Alcaraz, with the Italian in the form of his life. Sinner is on a record-breaking winning streak in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (34 matches), off the back of seizing all three clay Masters in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome, and is the victor of the last six titles at this level.

Back as the top seed, he could not return to Roland-Garros in better shape, form or with greater motivation. World No. 1 Sinner was one point away from completing the career Grand Slam in 2025 – that opportunity beckons again in 2026.

Elsewhere, Olympic champion Novak Djokovic heads to the French capital with only one match played on clay this season and three tournaments all year. The 38-year-old only missed out on an eighth career final in Paris after a gruelling straight-set semi-final loss to Sinner last year.

It could be a monumental tournament for 19-year-old Spaniard Rada Jódar following consecutive Masters 1000 quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome. Then there is home favourite Arthur Fils, finally fit and in excellent form on the red clay on the road to Paris.

From a rising Frenchman to a retiring one, this will be the final Roland-Garros for former world No. 6 Gaël Monfils, as well as Swiss 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.

Roland-Garros 2026 - Can Elena Rybakina dethrone world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka?

Aryna Sabalenka has been the top-ranked female player in the world for over a year and a half and returns with hopes of going one step further from last year’s final. However, the gap at the top is being chipped away by challenger Elena Rybakina.

The pair met in the Australian Open final this year – won by Rybakina – and the difference in ranking points has shrunk to 1,255. That does seem substantial, but Sabalenka was almost 5,000 points clear of second last August, and now has 1,300 points to defend from the previous edition against the Kazakhstani’s 240.

Rybakina is this season’s form player and a two-time quarter-finalist in Paris, where she will chase the third Grand Slam title of her career and first on clay.

Świątek might have something to say about that. A four-time French Open victor dubbed the ‘Queen of Clay’, an intermittent campaign so far could catch fire at her happy place on the tour.

Defending champion Gauff is back with a fast-improving serve and a second straight final run at the Italian Open, coming from a set down to win on three occasions. The 22-year-old is growing her game on clay and finding her stride at the perfect moment.

Other names to watch out for after a solid clay swing are Madrid champion Marta Kostyuk, Olympic doubles silver medallist Mirra Andreeva and Rome victor Elina Svitolina.

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