Roland Garros 2026 Women's PREVIEW: Draw Breakdown & Predictions

The 2026 Roland Garros women's draw is out and most of the top seeds, including  Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff all have potentially tricky early round matchups. Aryna Sabalenka notably got the best hand with a fairly favorable draw. In a wide-open women's field, who will emerge as our champion?

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The second slam of the season, Roland Guerros is here and we have arguably the most wide open women's field in a minute. There's no real clear favor for the title, which makes women's tennis again top tier so intriguing. The draw was released today and there are a few challenges early on looming for all the top four seeds. Can they weather their potential storms to reach the business end of the tournament? Or will we see another rather different face emerge to get their hands on the Suzanne Longland Cup? I'll break down the draw, go over all the edgy early round matchups before predicting who I think will be our winner two Saturdays from now. Bonjour, Jim Appo Christian Bass Night at Benvenue a la Christian's Court, where I cover tennis from all angles. If you have not yet already, make sure you subscribe and hit that notification bell so you're notified whenever I post more content like my men's Roland Girls draw breakdown and prediction video. Also, shout out to my channel members. They got an exclusive power rankings video before the draw was released, kind of talking about my top 10 title favorites and contenders. So if you're interested in that video, become a channel member. And I appreciate the support for those who are channel members. Now getting into the draw, first looking at the projected quarterfinals. There's Salanka against Pagula, an all-American matchup potentially between Coco, Golf, and Amana Anisemova. Then Alina Spitsalina could take on Igos Fiantec for yet another tournament. And then Mira Andreva could face off against Elena Robacina. First, starting out, of course, with the world number one and top seed and reigning Roland Girls finalist Arena Salenka. She has not lost before the quarterfinals at a major, going on four years now. But there are question marks surrounding her health, as she did have a little bit of a back problem in Rome, where she lost pretty early in the third round to Sorona Cristella, and she also suffered a relatively surprising quarterfinal exit to Haley Baptiste in Madrid. But all that considered, I think Sal Blanca would be very happy with her draw because she kind of clearly, to me at least, has the best section of the top four seeds. I think Christina Buxa is one of the best third rounds a seeded player can get. She has an inflated ranking, I think, from the Merida 500 title from earlier in the year, where the only top 50 player she played was Jasmine Paolini. And Buxha, she's not a bad player, but she's also kind of low on confidence and is riding a five-match losing streak. I think Zaynop Sonomez could go on another historic run to another major third round, although Daria Kazakhina could be a little bit tough for her. I think by far Sal Blanca's biggest challenge in this little section is Naomi Osaka. That will be their third fourth round meeting this year alone. And that said though, Naomi, she could have some potentially tricky matchups even before making it to that fourth round. As Laura Sigaman, I think that's tough, a tough first round opponent. Then there's some other dangerous floaters, maybe Donna Vec in the second round, although Vecich has been pretty poor for a long time. But even more so, Elma Navarro, who could play Eva Jovic in the second round. And Navarro just beat Jovic in Strasbourg, where she's currently in the semifinals now. So Navarro seems to be rounding back into form and could maybe go on a little bit of a run here in Rolling Arrows. And speaking of Eva, she has a pretty interesting opening round match herself going up against Alex Ayala, who she plays doubles with a few times. So interesting one for both of them. But I think I would favor Jovich in that one, kind of based on her slightly better clay form, in my opinion. I think still clay is gonna be a challenge for Ayala. But overall, I still think it's Sabalenka section to lose. Naomi, again, her biggest threat. Although I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see Osaka make it that far, because again, I think Jovic could pose some issues for her, as could Evanavaro, but we'll see. By the way, Naomi has never made it to the second week of any natural surface slam, so that's of course including Roland Garros. So that's another obstacle for her to overcome. So I'm putting Salvalinka through to the quarterfinals yet again. Next is Jessica Bagula's section, and JPEG would be the favorite, but she's only made the Roland Garros quarterfinals once, which was back in 2022. So I say all that to say Clay is not her favorite surface. Overall, not a bad section at all for the American. Alexandra Only Ninkova is a pretty tricky player that could be a second round opponent for the American. Then Dana Schneider could be a potential third-round opponent for Pagula, and Schneider is pretty good on Clay, although JPEG is 3-0 head-to-head wise against the Russian. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Princess D did get the win in that round. Then up top, there is Victoria Mboko, who is currently in the Strasbourg semifinals. She just beat Layla Fernandez and she's just appointed her newest coach, Wim Fazette. Nicola Barkinkova, I think, is an interesting opening round match. The 20-year-old Czech has beaten a few top players this year. She just beat Madison Keyes in Rome, and she also made the Australian Open third round, beating Belinda Benchic in Root. So she's definitely capable of big wins. Vicky, I think, is still clear though. And in the second round, she could face yet another Czech woman, although one a little bit older, and Katarina Sanyakova, who I think could could maybe take her out if Vicky's not on her P's and Q's. But aside from that, I think Mboko would have maybe a favorable third round match in my eyes. Because I'm not sure if Madison Keys will even play this tournament. She retired from her Paris 125 final due to a left thigh injury and pulled out of Strasbourg, too. So I think it's between Mboko and Pagula. And I think Pagula might be the more reliable pick. I think JPEG's path looks a little bit better, at least the first couple rounds. But of course, anything could happen, especially once we get to the fourth round. Next is Coco Goff, the defending champion section, and she will open against her compatriot, Taylor Townsend. This will be Coco and Taylor's first time playing one another in singles. They've played against each other in doubles a number of times, and they also partnered with one another too. And that considered, I think Townsend could have a pretty good insight into Coco's game. Obviously, she's a tricky player to face too. She can win points a lot of different ways. She can kind of hang back and try to be a little bit more consistent from the ground, but she can also, you know, come forward and just have a lot of craft too, which can throw Coco off her rhythm. And I think with there being potential early round nerves, with golf being the defending champion, plus Taylor, I think she can be a player who rises to the occasion of facing off against top players on big stages. I can see her maybe take a set, but ultimately I think golf is just a little bit more consistent overall, and I have her winning this one regardless. I think the biggest threat of this entire section for Coco is honestly the third round where she could face off against Anastasia Potopova, who is one of the biggest breakout players of the clay season. She's had some great results making the finals of Lent and also the semifinals of Madrid. Also, Potopova beat golf in their last two matches, albeit those were in 2023. But still, I think she has the game, the foul power to really cause problems for Coco, and she's obviously confident in playing well. That said, Potopova does not have the best track record at slams. She only has one slam second week appearance to her name, although it was here back in 2024. I can see Patapova upset Coco, honestly speaking. But I think if this match does come to fruition, I see Coco finding a way through this one in three sets. I see it being a scrappy three-set win for the American. A few other big hitters could play Coco in the fourth round. There's the Katerina Alexandrova, who she actually played in this very round here last year, where Coco got through in straight sets. Although Alexandrova has not been solid at all this year, she has a losing like six and twelve record. So I wouldn't be surprised if she lost early to the likes of Osodio or even in the second round, Putinthova or Gibson. And then there's Alan Kalinskaya, the 22nd seed. She has an interesting opening round opponent too against Lois Boisson, who is still pretty early on the comeback trail after being sidlined for a long time. Of course, Boisson was the big breakout star of Roland Garros last year coming through to reach the semifinals. So definitely upsettled her in that match, even though Boisson, again, isn't high on match reps or confidence. I think the crowd will heavily push her through potentially in this match. I definitely can see many people come through here aside from the seeded Russians, but I still think, regardless, Coco is gonna be the favorite to come through to reach her sixth straight quarterfinal in Paris. So she's my pick to win this section. Then yet another American Amanda Anasimova section is next to observe. And Anismova is back for her first tournament period since Miami, as she was struggling with a left wrist injury, and she's also playing her first tournament since splitting from her pretty longtime coach, Andrique Lise Howers. This is also Amanda's first clay tournament of the season, so it'll be an interesting challenge for her to overcome. But I think this is the perfect draw for Anisamova to work her way back into form. Her opening round opponent is a wild card, Sarah Dakota Manga Rajona, but Sara has not won a tour-level match all year. So yeah, I think that's a good opening round opponent for Anisamova. And Lee could cause problems for Anisamova in the third round potentially. Lee has had solid results this clay season, and she's currently in the Strasbourg semifinals, and she will open here in Paris against Antishuai Zhang, who she beat in Rome recently in three sets. And I can even see Angelina Kalinina cause some problems too. She's currently in the Robot semifinals, she's high on confidence, and maybe she could be the Ukrainian to come through and win Roland Garros to complete the Ukrainian sweep of Big Titles 1 on clay this year. I think on paper, really, Linda Noskova maybe should take this section. She's had the most consistent clay results this season so far, making the quarterfinals of Madrid and Stuttgart. She does have an interesting opening round of match against Maria Sakri, but I still think that Linda Shaklear. Sakri has won just two matches since her run to the Dubai semifinals in February. But I think the biggest dark horse here is definitely Jong Chinwen, the Olympic gold medalist. The second round between Jonk and Mertens could be really tough, in my opinion, but overall there's a lot of opportunity in the section. I'm not anticipating Anisamova to come out and play 100%. So I think she could be vulnerable of a pretty early exit. And I think this could be Chin Wen's I'm back tournament, where she's she's come close a couple times this play season to getting some good wins when she faced off against Elena Robacana and Yelena Osterpenko. But I think here in Paris as well she'll get some good wins. So I'm putting her through to the quarterfinals. Now the Big Mama Ukrainian and Rome champion Alina Svitalina probably has the toughest opening round opponent out of all the top players. And she faces off against Anna Bondar, who on paper really isn't all that. But not only has Anna been playing solid this play season, but she's beaten Switsalina their last two matches in straight sets from the US Open last year and Madrid this year. Bondar also might be Alina's toughest challenge in this entire section. I think Chin Yu Wong is a pretty weak seed, and I can see Lily tag her, upset her in the opening round. Clara Towson, another weak seed. She's currently on a four-match losing streak, but if she somehow finds form, she can definitely go on a little bit of a run and maybe, you know, go deep at a slam for the first time. But I could also see the winner of Kenan and Stearns take her down. Belinda Benchic is solid, but she's never reached a fourth round at Roland Garros and is just not a great slam player in general. I think American Katie McNally could take her down in the second round. And I would honestly favor McNally over Tamyanovic in that first round match. Katie's only losses on the red clay this year were to Sfiantek and Kostiak. So I can honestly maybe see her going a little bit of a breakout moment and at least reach the fourth round. And now that I'm thinking about it, maybe she could do her big one and take down Svitolina if they play in the fourth round. You never know. But I'm gonna keep it safe and have Svitolina move through to make the quarterfinals. Next is Iga Svjantek's section, and a lot of people have said that Iga has a god-awful, horrible draw. And while I do think she does have the toughest draw out of the top four seeds, it's not that bad. Like some people were making it seem like she was gonna for sure lose early, but I don't see that happening. Marta Kostjuk is up top, and of course she's in form, undefeated on clay so far this year, winning two titles in Ruin and Madrid. But this is why I think Egan Aider shouldn't be too stressed about this entire section overall. First, she has a 3-0 head-to-head record against Kalstuk and has never dropped a set to Marta, although they have not played since 2024. But still, Marta does not have the best slam track record, especially here at Rolling Garrett's. She has not reached the third round in Paris since 2021, where she made the round of 16, ultimately falling to Iga in straight sets. That said, we have witnessed a different Marta, so she can definitely do her big one this time around. And I think Costa should reach the second week. Fernandez has been playing pretty well on Clay this year, but I still think Marta would do well in that matchup. And she won their Rome round of 32 match last year pretty handily. And Layla has an interesting first round opponent herself, and Alicia Park, who could very well wake up and do something big as she beat Layla in the 2024 Australian Open second round. Now, the third round is where a lot of Eganators are stressed and sweating because she is projected to face her biggest op, Yelena Ostapenko, in the third round. And Yelena honestly has been playing pretty solid this clay season, even though she doesn't have, you know, a good big result to show for it. And I think she should reach the third round, but anything is possible. As Ostapenko, she hasn't reached the fourth round here since winning the title in 2017. And again, she's just so unpredictable. And I wouldn't be totally shocked if someone like Teresa Valentova upset her in the second round. But I still think Yelena will come through. Alstapenko is 6-0 against Fiontek, but this will presumably be their first outdoor clay match. Five of their six matches were on hardcourts, and their only clay match was in Stuttgart and indoor tournament, which I think could favor Alstapenko even more. And also, like my mutual Bastion said on X slash Twitter, there is a pretty recent trend of players turning around their O and six head-to-head records on clay in their seventh try. So this could be Iga's time where she turns things around. Also, I think people might be a little bit too harsh on Iga in her form. She honestly looked pretty impressive in Rome. She got those strong wins against Osaka and Pagula, although yes, Naomi and M. Jessica weren't playing all that great in those matches. And I still think she obviously has things to work on, as evident through her loss to Switzalina in the semifinals. But I think a win against Osta Panko could really turn things around full circle for Iga. And obviously she loves playing here too. She's never really lost that early at Rolling Garrett's. And it's hard for me to picture her losing early here too, even if it is against Osta Panko. So not only am I having Iga win this match to reach the fourth round, I'm having her take this entire section to make the quarterfinals. The penultimate section belongs to Mira Andreva, who definitely is one of the best performers of the clay season this year. She won Lentz and also made the finals of Madrid. And I think she has a pretty solid section. Former semifinalist Beatrice Hadaj Maya is here, but Bia has been pretty poor and she has no tour-level wins this year. Marie Boskova could give Mira a bit of a sweat, but I still think Andreva should be fine. Another Russian, Lutmela Samsonova, has been pretty poor this season. She's down there below, and she's 7 and 13 in 2026. So far, she's kind of unpredictable. Maybe she can do a little something. I don't know. Also, maybe keep a slight eye out for Alana Gabriela Russa. She's had some pretty decent clay results too. She beat Ostapanka en route to the Lent semifinals, very nearly beat Rabacana Madrid. So maybe she can go on a little bit of a run here and make the second week. Still, I think Carolyn Muhova should move through to the round of 16. She's a 2023 finalist, so obviously she has potential to play well here. And she reached the Stuttgart finals this year, but she's not riding the best confidence as she lost early in Rome badly to Anastasia Podopova. Jacqueline Christian also could be pretty dangerous for Mujova in the second round. The Romanian just missed out on that 32nd seeded spot, and she's currently in the Strasbourg semifinals. I think I'm gonna have that Andreva Muhova fourth round match come out to fruition. And if we do get it, I would have Mira coming through to reach the quarterfinals for a third straight year here in Paris. And last but certainly not least is Elena Robacina's section. And Robina does have a shot at claiming the world number one ranking against Sabalenka, but she would have to at least reach the semifinals, and she doesn't have the easiest draw, being totally honest. I think Robcana has the second, second hardest draw after Iga. I think she should move through comfortably to the third round. I think Robacina should move through comfortably to the third round. I think Yulia Startup Sava could maybe pose a challenge for her as she made the Charleston finals and beat some quality players en route. Also, Anna Blinkova, she beat Robacana in the last slam second round they played. Of course, that legendary Australian Open match where they played that epic Thursat tie break. Still, I think Robacina should move through. The third round, though, could get pretty interesting for the second seed, as she is likely to face either 26th seed Haley Baptiste or 2021 winner Baboda Kachikova. This to me is the big popcorn first round match of the women's draw. Baptiste obviously is playing well right now. She made the Madrid semifinals, beating Sabalanka en route. Meanwhile, Krachikova is still pretty early on the comeback trail from that mini layoff from the left thigh injury, but she recently reached the Parma finals and obviously can play well here at Roland Guerro's. That one between Haley and Babora will be tough for me to pick, but I'm gonna go with Baptiste to take that match. She did beat Babora in their Wuhan match in 2024 for her first top 10 win. So I think maybe there's something in that matchup that can favor the American. I think both Baptiste and Kachikova could give Robokina fits in that third round match, but I'm still putting Elena through to the round of 16. There, Rabakina's projected to face either Jasmine Paolini or Surrana Cristea. Jasmine, though, I think is at risk of a round one exit, as she's not only low on confidence this year, winning just one top 50 match, but she also suffered a foot injury in Rome, which forced her to pull out of doubles. And then also Yastremska's pretty high on confidence right now as she just won a 125 title in Parma. So I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the 2024 runner-up lost. Mirata Kanu, I mean, gotta mention her, she's a slam champion. She's down there below, but I honestly don't think that she'll progress past Solana Sierra, being totally honest. Then Serana Cristea, I think she would be favored to reach the second week. Her only losses on clay this year were to Coco Goff and Mira Andreva. And she's playing the best tennis right now, or the best tennis of her life. That said, she's not the best performer at the majors. She's only won two slam matches since the 2023 US Open. That said, I think she has a good chance for a good run here. For me, I think it's gonna be between Rabakana and Kirstea to come through to the quarterfinals, and I can see that being a tight one. And Kirstea actually beat Rabacana the last time they played at the US Open, so wouldn't be shocked at all if she got the win here, but I'm gonna go with Rabacana instead to make the quarterfinals. Giving y'all my predictions in the semifinals, I have Salanka against Coco, a rematch of last year's finals, and then Iga against Mira Andreva. Then I have a Salanka Andreva final with Mira taking the title. Now you notice I have seven of the top eight seeds making it through. In reality, this probably won't happen. I think we'll get probably a few surprises, but I just kept things nice and preserved. There is quite a potential for some surprises in all sections. With Sal Blanca, again, I mentioned Naomi being her biggest threat. With Pagula, of course, and Boko is a threat, as well as Deanna Schneider. With Coco, I think Paulopova and Kalen Skya are her two biggest threats in that little section. With Anasimova, she has quite a few threats from Zhang Chinwen, Linda Noskova, and even Elisa Murdens. Svitolina, I think her biggest threats are first Bandar, of course, as well as Katie Bignali, and then maybe Belinda Bencic. Iga, it's obviously Marta Kostuk and Yolena Osterpenko. Mira, I think it's Carolina Muhova. And then Rabakana is Kersteya, Baptiste, Krachikova, and Paulini. So that also kind of shows just the toughness of the draws for certain players, like namely to me, Robakana and Sfiantek. Now, explaining some of my picks, um, I think Coco is Arena's biggest threat in the top half. And Boko and Pagula, obviously, they're solid as well, but I don't see them being quite suited for major success on clay quite yet. Now, with this potential Coco Arena match, I think Arena will definitely be eager for revenge. Still, I'm not sure of how Coco will handle the pressure of being the defending champion and also her draw. I mean, I was kind of scared to have her losing early because she loves Roland Garros and she is a champion for a reason. Her fight is pretty much unparalleled. But again, it's not easy, and I can see for sure Patapova taking her out. And if not Patopova, then maybe Noskova, Anisumova, and Jang causing problems for her in that potential quarterfinal. Alina Svitilina, she did just beat Egan Rome, but I think Shantek would get her revenge. Also, I just wouldn't be totally surprised if Svitalina didn't make it out of her section. You know, I did mention Bandar, but also Katie McNally. Like there's something about her I think she could really cause problems. The thing is, is she ready for that step? Maybe. I think her run in Madrid to the what was it, the fourth round could set her up for success here. I also think that even if Svitalina did play Sfiante, that Iga would learn from her mistakes in Rome. And I think there's also a reason why Switzerina has never. Made it past the quarterfinals in Paris, and potentially it could be a mental block with her. But then also, too, maybe the crowd will be even more in her favor with her being married to Monfils and this being Monfils' final role on Garros. She might feel you know more inspired to do something for her man. So never know. And I feel the same way that I do about Svidolina with Rabacana, in that, you know, I can see her. Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't make it out of her section either. She has a pretty tough draw. I mean, as does Iga. All these players really have tough sections except for Salenka in my eyes. I feel like with Sal Balenka, I think that pick is, I don't have to explain that pick too much. Like, even though she's not coming into the tournament with the best form, it's something about slams with her. Like she always knows how to raise her level another notch. And this is one of her best slam draws that she's had in a minute. Now with Andreva, I know that might seem like a, you know, a surprising pick to some, but it's just I have a feeling about her. You know, it's like I think that she will be a teen slam champion, and this will be her best shot in my book. Clay might be her best surface, and I think a lot of that comes down to her forehand not being as vulnerable on this surface with it being slower. And she's proved herself a lot during this clay swing. She's had strong performances, really, the last two clay swings as well. She's made the semifinals of Rolling Garrett's back in 2024, the quarterfinals here, really should have made the semifinals again, but she lost her head against Louis Beauchamp. And that's the biggest thing with me with Mira. It's just mental. How will she be able to, you know, deal with the ebbs and flows and get over the hump of trying to win her first major? And also to her draw, it's not the easiest as well. And I would have her beating Robakanas, Fiontek, and Sablanka back to back to back. It's not impossible though, because she's beaten all these players multiple times. So it's again very much doable. And yeah, it's just hard for me to explain. It's just a vibe, y'all. It's a vibe. But yeah, those are my picks, and that's all I have for the prediction. Really quick, the bottom half of the women's singles draw will be scheduled to play on Sunday and Monday. So that's of course Rabakana, Xiantech, Andreva, and Fitzalina. And then the top half of the draw, the women's singles draw, will be played on Monday and Tuesday. So Coco, Arena, you know, Anasamova, Pagula. But that's all I have for this Rolling Girls woman's prediction video. And let me know your thoughts on my picks. And if you think my choice of having Andreva win the slam is just totally crazy, or if you see the vision, I don't know. And of course, feel free to drop your own picks and predictions in the comments. I'll give my thoughts on y'all's picks as well in the replies. And of course, make sure you subscribe and click the notification bell so you are notified whenever I drop my men's prediction video as well. Thank y'all so much for watching and for your support. And I'll see y'all next time here on Christian's Court. It should be a good tournament. I'm looking forward to it. So yeah, see y'all soon.