French Open draw LIVE: Latest updates as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz learn fate
The French Open draw takes place this afternoon ahead of the tournament beginning on May 28th at Roland Garros.
Defending men’s champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn due to injury leaving the field open for a new clay champion. World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz and two-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic are among the leading contenders in the men’s side, and could now been put in the same half of the draw after Daniil Medvedev moved up to World No 2 following his victory at the Italian Open last week.
Meanwhile, reigning women’s champion Iga Swiatek looks set to defend her crown and claim a third French Open title but will face stiff competition from world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Britain’s hopes of a shock win lay with Cameron Norrie despite his early season struggles on clay. Andy Murray has pulled out of the tournament to prioritise training for Wimbledon while Emma Raducanu faces a long spell on the sidelines after surgery.
Follow all the updates from the French Open draw:
French Open draw
The French Open draw will take place at 1pm BST
Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament through injury
Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev are amongst the men’s top seeds
Iga Swiatek is the women’s No. 1 seed and hopes to win a third French title
French Open 2023 draw live
13:02 , Mike Jones
Here we go. The draw for the 2023 French Open is about to get started and can be watched live on the Roland Garros YouTube channel.
We’ll have all the updates here too for you to follow along with.
Ten stars to watch at Roland Garros including Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka and more
12:56 , Mike Jones
The French Open starts this weekend and takes place without Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004.
The Spaniard’s withdrawal through injury opens the door for the rest of the men’s field, while two-time champion Iga Swiatek will look to cement her dominance of the women’s event.
Here, we pick out 10 players to watch at Roland Garros:
Ten stars to watch at Roland Garros including Alcaraz and Sabalenka
Rafael Nadal sights set on 2024 farewell tour after pulling out of French Open
12:52 , Mike Jones
Rafael Nadal admitted he is staring at the end of his tennis career after announcing he will miss the French Open and the majority of the season ahead of what he expects to be a farewell tour in 2024.
The 22-time grand-slam champion has not played since his second-round exit at the Australian Open in January.
Nadal struggled with a hip injury during the straight-sets defeat to Mackenzie McDonald and the ongoing issue has failed to recover sufficiently in order for the 36-year-old to chase a 15th title at Roland Garros.
It means the Spaniard, who has only lost three matches on the Parisian clay, will miss the tournament for the first time since 2004 but he admitted during a press conference at his academy in Manacor that it feels the only option.
Rafael Nadal sights set on 2024 farewell tour after pulling out of French Open
Can Swiatek defend her title?
12:48 , Mike Jones
Iga Swiatek is the favourite to regain her French Open title and lift the trophy for a third time. She was the dominant force in the tournament last year but can she repeat that performance this time around?
Back in Paris to defend her 2022 crown 👑@iga_swiatek I #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/lmtcm3BFpA
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 24, 2023
What is the French Open schedule?
12:44 , Mike Jones
The French Open will run for 15 days and see plenty of tennis action on the famous clay courts of Roland Garros. Here’s the upcoming schedule for the second grand slam of the year:
First round: May 28-30
Second round: May 31-June 1
Third round: June 2-3
Fourth round: June 4-5
Quarter-finals: June 6-7
Women’s semi-finals: June 8
Men’s semi-finals: June 9
Women’s final: June 10
Men’s final: June 11
How does the French Open draw work?
12:40 , Mike Jones
There are 128 players in the men’s and women’s singles draws. 32 seeded players are in the draw, which are determined by the ATP and WTA rankings the week before the tournament starts.
Those seeds will be drawn apart and cannot face each other for the first few rounds of the tournament. The top seed and the second seed can only meet in the final whilst the top four seeds can only meet in the semi-finals. If the seeds make it through each round then the top eight seeds would all reach the quarter-finals.
No British women in French Open singles draw as hopefuls beaten in qualifying
12:36 , Mike Jones
Katie Boulter produced a gutsy display against Ashlyn Krueger but failed to serve out for the match as she was beaten in the second qualifying round for the French Open.
On a difficult day for Britons attempting to progress into the Roland Garros main draw, Boulter joined Harriet Dart, Fran Jones, Liam Broady, Ryan Peniston and Jan Choinski in losing in Paris.
It means only Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and Jack Draper will fly the flag for Britain in the second major of 2023, following Andy Murray’s withdrawal and Emma Raducanu’s recent fitness woes.
Boutler had been seeded 24th for qualifying but lost out 2-6 6-2 6-7 (6) to Krueger after a lengthy battle.
No British women in French Open singles draw as hopefuls beaten in qualifying
The women’s seeds
12:32 , Mike Jones
There are 16 seeded players in the French Open draw for both the men’s and the women’s competitions.
They are determined by the ATP and WTA rankings the week before the tournament starts and in theory are the best 16 players in the tournament. Should each of the seeds make it to the quarter-finals they would then start to face each other.
Here are all the seeded players for the women’s draw:
Iga Swiatek
Aryna Sabalenka
Jessica Pegula
Elena Rybakina
Caroline Garcia
Coco Gauff
Ons Jabeur
Maria Sakkari
Daria Kasatkina
Petra Kvitova
Veronika Kudermetova
Belinda Bencic
Barbora Krejcikova
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Liudmila Samsonova
Karolina Pliskova
The men’s seeds
12:28 , Mike Jones
There are 16 seeded players in the French Open draw for both the men’s and the women’s competitions.
They are determined by the ATP and WTA rankings the week before the tournament starts and in theory are the best 16 players in the tournament. Should each of the seeds make it to the quarter-finals they would then start to face each other.
Here are all the seeded players for the men’s draw:
Carlos Alcaraz
Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic
Casper Ruud
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Holger Rune
Andrey Rublev
Jannik Sinner
Taylor Fritz
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Karen Khachanov
Frances Tiafoe
Hubert Hurkacz
Cameron Norrie
Borna Coric
Tommy Paul
Who are the top seeds at the French Open?
12:24 , Mike Jones
Carlos Alcaraz is the top men’s seed despite an early exit at the Italian Open, as he overtook Novak Djokovic as world No. 1 after the tournament.
Daniil Medvedev moved up to world No. 2 following his victory in Italy and will be the second seed with Djokovic third ahead of last year’s French Open runner-up Casper Ruud.
The top two women’s seeds are Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek is the defending champion and is aiming for a third French Open title, while world No. 2 Sabalenka will be looking to make it past the third round for the first time.
Jessica Pegula is the third seed ahead of Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Why a reset for Emma Raducanu can be a step in the right direction
12:20 , Mike Jones
As Emma Raducanu sat down in Madrid last month, the British No 1 was determined to give away as little as possible. The former US Open champion was asked 16 questions, ranging from her fitness ahead of the clay court tournament to her friendship with fellow British player Jodie Burrage, and Raducanu replied with a total of 58 words.
After a series of short, sharp returns down the line, the press conference was cut short. A few hours later, Raducanu withdrew from Madrid due to a right hand injury. Raducanu posted an update from a hospital bed, her right hand wrapped in a cast.
The news that the 20-year-old will miss the “next few months”, including Wimbledon, as she undergoes surgeries on both hands and her ankle belatedly provided some answers. Raducanu had been dealing with a recurring injury on a bone on the top of both hands, and had been playing through pain for the past 10 months.
In Madrid, her frustration could no longer be downplayed.
Why a reset for Emma Raducanu can be a step in the right direction
The British hopefuls
12:16 , Mike Jones
With both Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu withdrawing from the French Open, Britain will have four players competing to win the title. Here’s a look at how they should fare:
4. Kyle Edmund
The road back from a long-term knee injury that required three operations has been slow for Edmund, who is ranked down at 445.
A protected ranking of 48 has allowed him to enter the French Open for the first time since 2019 and he will hope for a more favourable draw than in recent major tournaments.
The former world number 14 is yet to win a tour level match this year but he has had some success at lower levels and, at 28, still has time on his side if his knee allows.
The British hopefuls
12:12 , Mike Jones
With both Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu withdrawing from the French Open, Britain will have four players competing to win the title. Here’s a look at how they should fare:
3. Jack Draper
There have been more glimpses this season of what a phenomenal player the 21-year-old left-hander could be, including victories over Murray and Evans in Indian Wells.
But frustratingly he has again been restricted by physical problems, the latest an abdominal injury that dogged him for two months.
Like his good friend Raducanu, the most important priority for Draper, who will be making his Roland Garros debut, is ensuring his body is not his most difficult opponent.
The British hopefuls
12:08 , Mike Jones
With both Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu withdrawing from the French Open, Britain will have four players competing to win the title. Here’s a look at how they should fare:
2. Dan Evans
A committed ‘clayphobe’ for most of his career, Evans has found his feet on the red stuff over the last couple of seasons and finally won his first match at Roland Garros last year.
After a difficult spell post Australian Open when he lost five straight matches, clay has seen the 33-year-old hit form, with runs to the semi-finals of ATP events in Marrakech and Barcelona keeping him in the top 25.
The British hopefuls
12:04 , Mike Jones
With both Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu withdrawing from the French Open, Britain will have four players competing to win the title. Here’s a look at how they should fare:
1. Cameron Norrie
The British number one’s form has tailed off after a spectacular start to the season, which included victories over Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz - the latter bringing him his second biggest title at the ATP Tour event in Rio.
Norrie’s heavy, spinning forehand and athletic prowess make him well suited to clay and his position in the top 16 keeps him away from the big guns through the early rounds.
A place in the second week will be his target.
Andy Murray withdraws from French Open to prioritise Wimbledon buildup
12:00 , Mike Jones
Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year’s French Open, it is understood.
The second grand slam of the year begins next week, but after struggling to find his best form on clay in recent weeks, the Scot will prioritise a busy grass-court schedule in the build-up to Wimbledon.
Murray was beaten in the first round of the Italian Open and earlier this week made another early exit on clay after losing to Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.
The 36-year-old is understood to still be considering which tournaments to target and they may include Surbiton from June 4-11 and then Queen’s from June 19-25. Wimbledon is scheduled to start on July 3.
Andy Murray withdraws from French Open to prioritise Wimbledon buildup
French Open draw live
11:26 , Mike Jones
Hello, good afternoon and welcome to our coverage of the French Open draw that will decide the brackets for the second grand slam of the year.
The draw will take place around 1pm BST and will determine the opponents for the first round as well as the routes the favourites will need to navigate in order to reach the final.
The defending men’s champion, Rafael Nadal, has withdrawn from the tournament and will not feature at Roland Garros for the first time since 2005 meaning that Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 1, is the favourite to win. He is seeded first in the men’s draw with Italian Open champion Daniil Medvedev second and Novak Djokovic third.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie is the 14th seed and will fly the flag for the UK after both Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu pulled out of the grand slam.
In the women’s event Iga Swiatek will attempt to defend her title and win the French Open for a third time. She’s the No. 1 seed but will face strong competition from the likes of orld No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
The tournament starts on May 28th and runs until June 11th.
