Tennis Stars Face off in the 2025 French Open
As the end of May approaches, elite tennis players prepare to take the court at Roland Garros to compete in one of the four yearly grand slam championships. As the event approaches, tennis fans across the world cannot help but wonder: Who will reign at the French Open this year?
As the world’s #1 ranked female tennis player, Aryna Sabalenka has set herself in a solid position to win the tournament. She has already racked up many victories in the 2025 season, winning the Madrid Open, Miami Open, and Brisbane International and finishing runner up at the Australian Open, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and BNP Paribas Open. However, she has never played a final in Paris and fell short in the quarterfinals of last year’s French Open, losing to teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva in a three-set thriller. In addition, clay has never been Sabalenka’s preferred court surface given her powerful game style. Having recently lost to Qinwen Zheng at the Italian Open, she is certainly not invincible.
Having won four of the last five championships at Roland Garros, Iga Swiatek is another highly-regarded contestant. However, her past year has been marked by turmoil, and she has failed to reach a single finals of a tournament since last year’s French Open. In fact, her loss to Danielle Collins at the Italian Open marked the end of her 165-week streak of holding a top-two WTA ranking. Swiatek also faced a one-month suspension at the end of 2024 for testing positive for trimetazidine. The doping case received tremendous public backlash, which may have diminished her confidence levels and self-esteem. In March, Swiatek revealed her troublesome mental state on an Instagram post: “When I’m highly focused and don’t show many emotions on court, I’m called a robot, my attitude labeled as inhuman. Now that I’m more expressive, showing feelings or struggling internally, I’m suddenly labeled immature or hysterical. That’s not a healthy standard -- especially considering that just six months ago, I felt my career was hanging by a thread, spent three weeks crying daily, and didn’t want to step on the court.”
The Men’s end of the tournament also has several candidates to look out for. Having won 36 out of his last 37 matches, world no. 1 Jannik Sinner has completely dominated the ATP tour since last August. Despite his near-invincibility, Sinner has encountered major personal obstacles this year. The Italian sensation has opened up about his mental health struggles from his doping case, which resulted in a three-month ban from February to May. He shared that he felt uncomfortable in the locker room and feared that other players would view him differently. Sinner’s ability to perform at the peak of the game amidst emotional turmoil only demonstrates his maturity and resilience, key characteristics of a grand slam champion.
Another highly regarded player is the tournament’s defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Although he is characterized by his volatile and unpredictable game, Alcaraz has already achieved incredible success at such a young age, including 18 career titles, four of which are grand slams. However, the Spaniard will face a significant rankings drop if he fails to defend his points at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, adding pressure to his performance.
As the event’s #2 seed, Alexander Zverev will fight for his first grand slam title, a feat he has looked to achieve for many years. After losing in the finals of the 2020 US Open, 2024 French Open, and this year’s Australian Open, he is known as one of the best players to have never won a grand slam. While tennis experts are certain that Zverev has the skill set and tools to become a Grand Slam champion, does he have the mental toughness to do so this month?
Many students at Riverdale are looking forward to watching the French Open and have offered their opinions on the event’s results. Ninth-grader Madison Chambers shared her predictions: “I think Carlos Alcaraz will win the men’s [draw] and Sabalenka will win on the women’s end. Alcaraz has a strong game on clay and won [the tournament] last year while Sabalenka shows great movement and strength on court.” Senior Amanda Chen had similar remarks: “I hope Alcaraz wins the men’s draws. With his recent victories and one over Jack Draper as well as his defending champion status, I think he’s well-positioned to retain his title. In terms of women’s draws, I think Iga Swiatek has a good chance. I mean, she’s even known as the Queen of Clay, so her clay court expertise will definitely give her an edge.” However, sophomore Delphine Toulouse takes a different stance: “Although Sinner prefers competing on hard courts over clay, he has completely dominated the tour since the summer of 2024 and has high chances of winning the French Open. I believe that Coco Gauff will win the women’s bracket since her performance in Italy will boost her confidence for the French Open.”
If you are a sports fanatic, the French Open will definitely blow your mind!
