Rafael Nadal will begin his return to the French Open – and expected farewell to the tournament he has dominated – with a first-round match against German fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
Spaniard Nadal, who has won the men’s title fourteen times, plans to retire later this year.
Zverev, 27, is one of the favorites for the title and was strengthened by winning the Italian Open last week.
Brit Andy Murray has also indicated that he will retire in the coming months and start against fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka.
Murray, 37, has played just once on the Roland Garros circuit since 2017 but returns for the final time after recovering from an ankle injury that put his participation in doubt.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic starts against French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert, while Iga Swiatek begins her bid for a third straight title against a qualifier or lucky loser.
The French Open, the second Grand Slam tournament of the season, starts on Sunday, May 26.
Striking draws for the British
Success for British players on the Paris circuit has been scarce over the years and based on form and pedigree it would be a monumental achievement if anyone could follow Sue Barker as the country’s only singles champions in the Open era.
Katie Boulter is the highest-ranked British player and the 26th seed has been handed a difficult-looking draw.
Boulter makes her first appearance in the main draw, starting against former world number three Paula Badosa, and could meet former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round, while Sabalenka could be lurking in the third round .
Boulter, 27, almost drew compatriot Harriet Dart in the first round.
Boulter was one of two seeds left in the pot to face 27-year-old Dart, who will instead make her second main draw appearance against Czech 27th seed Linda Noskova.
In men’s singles, Cameron Norrie is the leading Briton by ranking and the 32nd seed will get a chance to meet Murray in the second round if he beats Pavel Kotov.
Dan Evans has placed Denmark’s Holger Rune 13th, while Jack Draper faces a qualifier or lucky loser.
More to follow.
More to follow.
