PARIS: Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will not be able to meet until the French Open final after the pair were placed in opposite halves of the men’s draw on Thursday, while Coco Gauff could face Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s semis.
Sinner, the red-hot men’s title favourite in the absence of injured rival Carlos Alcaraz, will start his bid for a maiden Roland Garros crown against French wildcard Clement Tabur, the world number 165. The event gets underway on Sunday.
Women’s world number one Sabalenka faces a tough potential road to the final, with Naomi Osaka, Victoria Mboko and reigning champion Gauff all potential hurdles for the Belarusian.World number one Sinner is slated to meet big-hitting American fifth seed Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.
Daniil Medvedev is a possible semi-final opponent for the Italian.
The Russian gave Sinner a rare scare in the Italian Open semis earlier this month before eventually succumbing in three sets.
Sinner won his sixth consecutive Masters 1000 trophy by beating Casper Ruud in the Rome final.
That made the four-time Grand Slam champion only the second man to complete the set of all nine Masters 1000 titles, after Novak Djokovic.
Third seed Djokovic will kick off his latest tilt at a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title against home player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Second seed Alexander Zverev is a potential semi-final opponent for Djokovic, who turns 39 on Friday.
The German has played Djokovic twice before at Roland Garros, suffering quarter-final defeats against the Serb in 2019 and last year.
Djokovic is hoping to finally break out of his tie with Margaret Court on 24 Slam titles with a first major triumph since the 2023 US Open.
Zverev, still without a Grand Slam trophy after several near misses, plays Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi in round one.
The stand-out first-round tie sees in-form French number one Arthur Fils take on 41-year-old former champion Stan Wawrinka, featuring at the tournament for the last time before retirement.
Home favourite Gael Monfils, a semi-finalist in 2008, starts his farewell French Open against fellow countryman Hugo Gaston.
American fourth seed Gauff, who beat world number one Sabalenka in a tense final 12 months ago, will start her title defence against compatriot Taylor Townsend.
Sabalenka, who has never won the Roland Garros tournament, was handed a difficult draw.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka is a potential last-16 opponent for Sabalenka, although the Japanese star has never previously reached the second week in Paris.
Rising Canadian prospect Mboko or fifth seed Jessica Pegula could await the Belarusian in the quarters.
Sabalenka will take on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in the first round.
Gauff may need to get past fellow American Amanda Anisimova, who lost the Wimbledon and US Open finals last year, in the last eight.
Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek, seeded third, could meet Italian Open winner Elina Svitolina in the quarters.
Second seed Elena Rybakina, who won the year’s opening Grand Slam event at the Australian Open, is slated to face Swiatek in the semi-finals.
Poland’s Swiatek will start her campaign against 17-year-old Australian wildcard Emerson Jones, while Rybakina plays Slovenia’s Veronika Erjavec.
There is a possible all-Southeast Asian clash in the second round between Indonesia’s Janice Tjen and the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala.
If that tie materialises, it may be for a last-32 meeting with Osaka.
‘WILL NOT BUDGE’
Meanwhile on Thursday, the tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said said they “will not budge” and increase prize money for the 2026 event despite a dispute with players.
A group of tennis stars will limit their media duties in the build-up to the clay-court Grand Slam due to perceived low prize money.
Players have claimed they are currently only paid 15 per cent of the current revenue from the majors, asking for 22 per cent instead.
“We are not going to budge,” Mauresmo told reporters at the tournament draw in Paris, adding she was a “little saddened” by the situation.
“We have prize money that has (...) doubled in 10 years and has also increased significantly recently.”
Sinner earlier this month called for the Slam events to show “respect” to players.
Sabalenka also said at the Italian Open that players might have to boycott the sport’s four biggest tournaments — the Australian, French and US Opens and Wimbledon — to “defend our rights”.
A meeting between the French Open organisers and “some of the players’ representatives” is to be held on Friday.
“We don’t usually take what comes from the players lightly,” Mauresmo added.
“I am confident about the discussions that will take place and those that have already taken place.”
Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026