Beyond the favorites: 5 players who could shake up the Roland Garros draw

Aryna Sabalenka. Elena Rybakina. Iga Swiatek. Coco Gauff.

Despite the remarkable parity across the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz this season, those four enter Roland Garros as the leading contenders for the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup.

Behind them, Elina Svitolina -- fresh off her third Rome title -- Marta Kostyuk, the newly crowned champion in Madrid, along with Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Karolina Muchova and Victoria Mboko headline the next tier of challengers expected to push deep into the season's second Grand Slam.

But as always in Paris, the door for a surprise run remains wide open. Just ask Lois Boisson, whose semifinal breakthrough last year sent shockwaves through the bracket. With that in mind, here are five players, spanning the Top 20 to the fringes of the Top 100, who could shake up the draw later this month.

1. Linda Noskova

Calling the World No. 12 "under-the-radar" feels like a stretch, but Noskova still isn't getting the attention her clay results warrant. The 21-year-old reached quarterfinals in Stuttgart and Madrid and made the fourth round in Rome.

Her losses came only to in-form opponents. She lost to Svitolina in Stuttgart, eventual champion Kostyuk in Madrid and eventual semifinalist Sorana Cirstea in Rome. She also beat Gauff in Madrid before falling to Kostyuk. Noskova has yet to reach the third round at Roland Garros in four tries, but her level this spring suggests that's about to change.

2. Sorana Cirstea

In her farewell season, Cirstea has produced some of the best tennis of her career. She earned her first win over a World No. 1 by defeating Sabalenka in the Rome third round in Rome and reached the semifinals before bowing out to Gauff.

Her clay swing also includes quarterfinals in Linz, where she pushed eventual champion Andreeva to three sets, and a semifinal in Rouen before withdrawing. She arrives in Paris on the verge of her Top 20 debut, and the former French Open quarterfinalist looks poised to earn her first main-draw win at the Slam since 2022.

3. Hailey Baptiste

Continuing the theme of "players who beat Sabalenka during the clay-court swing," Baptiste is an obvious name to watch. She'll enter Roland Garros as a seeded player, a remarkable rise for someone who began the year just inside the Top 70. Her upset of Sabalenka in the Madrid quarterfinals showed she can trouble anyone on clay.

Her lopsided loss to Svitolina in Rome looks far less concerning following the Ukrainian's title run and Paris has already been good to her. Baptiste reached her first Grand Slam second week there last year before falling to Madison Keys in the fourth round.

4. Anastasia Potapova

Potapova's best Grand Slam result also came in Paris, where she reached the Round of 16 in 2024 (don't ask what happened next). This year, she enters in some of the best form of her career. She has climbed from No. 97 to No. 28 in the PIF WTA Rankings during the clay-court swing, reaching the final in Linz, the semifinals in Madrid and the fourth round in Rome.

Along the way, she has beaten Rybakina, Muchova, Jelena Ostapenko and Liudmila Samsonova and posted a 14-4 record, including qualifying. With a seed secured, the 25-year-old is a dangerous opponent no one will want in their section of the draw.

5. Anhelina Kalinina

This one may seem bold, but Kalinina's clay credentials make her a legitimate dark horse. She reached four straight WTA 125 finals on the surface in March, winning two titles in Turkey, and added a Top 25 win over Bogota champion Marie Bouzkova in Madrid.

She has never advanced past the second round at Roland Garros, but her 2023 run to the Rome final proved she can catch fire on clay. And with Ukrainian players thriving throughout the spring, she could be the next to capitalize on that momentum.

Others to watch

Bouzkova sits in an interesting middle ground, with her level proving less consistent than the other champions from this clay-court swing. She won Bogota in a three-set thriller over Panna Udvardy and has reached the third round in Paris each of the past two years. Still, back-to-back opening losses in Madrid and Rome raise questions about her form. The good news: she'll be seeded, and at her best, she's capable of an even deeper run this time around.

Karolina Pliskova has put together a strong clay season in her return from injury. The former World No. 1 reached the quarterfinals in Linz and Madrid and made the Round of 16 in Rome, where she lost to Rybakina. She's closing in on a Top 100 return and, if she qualifies, the former French Open semifinalist could be a dangerous early-round opponent.

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