Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

French Open 2025 Draw – Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Jasmine Paolini In Tough Top Half; Andreeva, Pegula, Gauff Find Themselves In The Bottom Half

French Open 2025: WTA Contenders Split Across the Draw

Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

With the main draw of the 2025 French Open, aka Roland Garros, kicking off this Sunday, excitement is reaching a fever pitch among fans and players alike. The WTA singles field is stacked and split. Top contenders like Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Zheng Qinwen, Mirra Andreeva, and Jasmine Paolini are scattered across different halves and quarters, setting the stage for blockbuster quarterfinals, semifinals or even a dream final.

But before those potential matchups can happen, each star faces their own hurdles. World No. 1 Sabalenka could run into Amanda Anisimova, who holds a 5-2 head-to-head edge over her. Meanwhile, defending champion Swiatek might clash with Jelena Ostapenko, a player who is leading their rivalry 6-0.

The 2025 Women's singles draw ✔️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/nRsQSMq3I1
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 22, 2025

This is the kind of unpredictable, high-stakes drama that defines Roland Garros, a battleground where the next WTA star could rise, or a familiar name could rise again to reclaim glory.

French Open 2025 Top Half

In the top quarter, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka enters Paris in peak form, with three titles this season and a runner-up finish at the Australian Open. Yet her draw poses challenges as she trails Amanda Anisimova 2-5, could face Leylah Fernandez (1-0) in a potential third-round rematch, and has a recent loss to Qinwen Zheng in Rome, her projected quarterfinal opponent.

Zheng’s path, however, includes tough early tests against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Alexandra Eala, Peyton Stearns, and Diana Shnaider. Roland Garros remains the only Slam where Sabalenka hasn’t reached the final, with her best showing being a semifinal run in 2023.

The draw for the 2025 French Open was released on Thursday evening. In the women's singles, Chinese tennis ace Zheng Qinwen, also the 8th seed, is set to face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. Zheng will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round, while… pic.twitter.com/VH6AnrURpe
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) May 22, 2025

In the second quarter, the three-time consecutive defending champion Iga Swiatek leads a loaded section but holds favorable head-to-heads against most contenders, including Emma Raducanu, Marta Kostyuk, Belinda Bencic, and Elena Rybakina. The main threat is Jelena Ostapenko, who leads their rivalry but enters with shaky form.

Jasmine Paolini, coming off a Rome title, adds intrigue and could meet Elina Svitolina in the fourth round. Despite her dominance in Paris, Swiatek arrives with questions; now ranked No. 5, she hasn’t reached a final since winning here last year.

The most interesting first-round matchups are as follows:

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Kamilla Rakhimova
Olga Danilovic vs. Leylah Fernandez
Clara Tauson vs. Magda Linette
Petra Kvitova vs. Viktorija Golubic
Peyton Stearns vs. Eva Lys
Alexandra Eala vs. Emiliana Arango
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Zheng Qinwen
Anastasia Potapova vs. Linda Noskova
Zeynep Sonmez vs. Elina Svitolina
Elena Rybakina vs. Belinda Bencic
Iva Jovic vs. Renata Zarazua
Emma Raducanu vs. Wang Xinyu

Also Read: US Open Site to Undergo Massive Renovations Worth $800 Million, Including A New-Look Arthur Ashe Stadium

French Open 2025 Bottom Half

In the third quarter, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva headline a draw full of comeback stories and rising stakes. Pegula, back at a career-high No. 3 after winning her first clay title in Charleston, could face 2023 finalist Karolina Muchova in the fourth round. Jabeur opens against Magdalena Frech, with a potential second-round showdown against Vondrousova.

The section also features former Top 5 players Ons Jabeur, Marketa Vondrousova, and Maria Sakkari, all battling back from injuries, though. Meanwhile, Andreeva, already a two-time WTA 1000 winner in 2025, could meet Paula Badosa in the last 16 if Badosa gets past Naomi Osaka in a much-anticipated opening round.

First title of 2025! 🏆@JPegula grabs her first title in Austin after defeating Kessler 7-5, 6-2. #ATXOpen pic.twitter.com/XwBHlfO6d0
— wta (@WTA) March 2, 2025

The fourth quarter centers on Coco Gauff, who returns to Paris at a career-high No. 2 after reaching back-to-back WTA 1000 finals in Madrid and Rome, becoming the youngest player to do so in the same season. However, Emma Navarro, who upset Coco Gauff in last year’s Wimbledon and US Open, could once again play spoiler.

The draw also includes a resurgent Madison Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, who has the firepower to go deep in Paris, where she was a semifinalist in 2018.

The most interesting first-round matchups are as follows:

Daria Kasatkina vs. Katerina Siniakova
Naomi Osaka vs. Paula Badosa
Karolina Muchova vs. Alycia Parks
Lois Boisson vs. Elise Mertens
Magdalena Frech vs. Ons Jabeur
Varvara Gracheva vs. Sofia Kenin
Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Hailey Baptiste
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro vs. Emma Navarro
Barbora Krejcikova vs. Tatjana Maria
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Marie Bouzkova

Aryna Sabalenka

Coco Gauff

French Open 2025

Iga Swiatek

Jessica Pegula

Roland Garros 2025

Rudra Dubey

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I’m an academic turned sports writer from Raipur, India, specializing in the NFL, MMA, and tennis at The Playoffs. I previously wrote for Sportskeeda and hold a B.A. and M.A. in History. My journey into sports media began far from the field, rooted in the arts and sciences. Funny enough, I didn’t grow up a sports fan; I used to see it all as just noise. But a fateful writing job introduced me to the world of sports, and what began as a gig quickly became a passion. I understood those voices aren’t noise; they’re emotions of true sports fans, and now I am one of them, writing with the same energy I once questioned.