Six Canadians, Including Andreescu, Competing at French Open

All eyes will likely be on Bianca Andreescu when play will get underway on the French Open because the Canadian star will likely be competing in her first occasion in 9 months. 

She is one in every of 5 Canadians in the principle draw at Roland-Garros over the approaching weeks. Leylah Annie Fernandez joins her within the girls’s singles, whereas Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, and Gabriel Diallo, who’s making his Grand Slam debut having certified for the primary time, are within the males’s singles draw. 

Rob Shaw is competing within the quad occasion. 

Andreescu’s much-anticipated return to the court docket begins with assembly Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain within the first spherical and will face world No. 25 Anna Kalinskaya in spherical two.  

Sorribes Tormo supplies a difficult first match on the grime, having reached the fourth spherical in Paris a yr in the past and is general a robust clay-court participant, able to extending rallies. Will probably be a giant check of Andreescu’s health in her return, though the Canadian did win their lone earlier assembly within the 2021 Miami quarter-finals.  

Learn additionally: WTA Power Rankings Ahead of Roland-Garros

Additional down the road, Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini is a possible spherical three opponent, with Australian Open runner-up and seventh seed Qinwen Zheng doubtlessly looming within the fourth spherical adopted by No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina within the quarter-finals. 

Initially, Andreescu was going to begin her comeback final week in Rabat. She final competed on the Nationwide Financial institution Open in Montreal in August 2023. 

Exterior of Flushing Meadows, the 2019 US Open champion has loved a few of her Grand Slam success at Roland-Garros, reaching the third spherical of the distinguished clay-court occasion final yr. In every of the final three editions of the French Open, Andreescu has made it one spherical farther. 

Fernandez returns to Roland-Garros for the fifth time and can face off in opposition to Jessika Ponchet of France within the first spherical. The world No. 33 achieved her finest outcome on the French Open in 2022 when she reached the quarter-finals earlier than struggling a foot damage that derailed her marketing campaign. 

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The 2021 US Open runner-up faces a troublesome highway if she is to go on one other run in Paris. She might face world No. 8 Ons Jabeur within the third spherical, a rematch of their latest Madrid epic. Subsequent up might be 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in spherical 4, adopted by world No. 3 Coco Gauff within the quarter-finals. If she does get by way of that gauntlet, her reward would nearly definitely be a conflict with the two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek within the semifinals. 

On the boys’s aspect, World No. 21 Auger-Aliassime has just lately hit his stride, making it to his first ATP 1000-level final at the Mutua Madrid Open, the place he fell to world No. 6 Audrey Rublev.  

He’ll look to seek out related footing on clay subsequent week, the place he’ll face Yoshihito Nishioka within the opening spherical. The Montrealer, whose finest lead to Paris got here in 2022 when he reached the fourth spherical and became just the third man to push Rafael Nadal to five sets at Roland-Garros, might face American Ben Shelton within the third spherical earlier than a possible showdown title-favourite Carlos Alcaraz within the final sixteen. 

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As for Shapovalov, the 25-year-old is ready to face Luca Van Assche of France within the first spherical. He’ll look to enhance on his finest results of reaching the third-round final yr, the place he fell to the then world No. 1 Alcaraz.  

As a way to go deeper than his earlier finest, Shapovalov might want to win potential matchups in opposition to  Frances Tiafoe in spherical two and eighth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in spherical three. 

One participant to keep watch over is Gabriel Diallo, who will likely be competing in his first Grand Slam most important draw. 

Learn additionally: ATP Power Rankings Ahead of Roland-Garros

The 6’8 big got here by way of qualifying for simply the third time in his profession however first at a serious. He defeated Genaro Alberto Olivieri, Marco Trungelliti, and Alexander Ritschard, all in three units, to ebook his spot in the principle draw.  

Will probably be Diallo’s first main-tour most important draw on clay. Throughout all ranges {of professional} tennis, the 22-year-old had performed simply 9 matches on the grime coming into Roland-Garros. 

Doubles and Wheelchair 

Within the doubles draw, Shapovalov is teaming up with Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis on the boys’s aspect, whereas Fernandez and Erin Routliffe, the standard accomplice of Gabriela Dabrowski, tackle the ladies’s doubles draw. 

Final yr, Fernandez reached the ladies’s doubles closing with Taylor Townsend, however misplaced in three units to Hsieh Su-Wei and Wang Xinyu. 

Rob Shaw will play in each quad attracts, teaming up with David Wagner of america in doubles. The North Bay native will compete from June 4 to eight, having made his French Open debut simply final yr the place he reached his second quad wheelchair doubles Grand Slam final.

Major-draw play begins on Sunday in Paris.