Bianca Andreescu, Karolina Pliskova and Sloane Stephens headline the Roland Garros qualifying field as players chase main-draw returns in Paris. The tournament starts May 18.
Roland Garros qualifying is set to begin May 18, and the headline names are not just familiar—they’re the kind of players who can quietly flip the whole complexion of a tournament.
Bianca Andreescu. Karolina Pliskova and Sloane Stephens. all former Grand Slam champions or top-tier Grand Slam performers. will need to win their way into the main draw for the second major of the season.. For fans, the appeal is obvious: Paris is where careers are reaffirmed.. For the players, it’s a high-stakes sprint back from interruption—especially after missing the 2025 French Open amid injuries.
The field carries real historical gravity.. Stephens arrives with the strongest Paris résumé among the trio. having reached the final in 2018 and then added quarterfinal appearances in 2019 and 2022.. That track record matters in qualifying because the pressure is different: fewer chances. tighter margins. and a draw that can punish even small off-days.. Pliskova. now 34. has a notable Paris peak as well—she made the semifinals in 2017. her only second-week run in 13 major main-draw attempts there.. Andreescu’s story is more recent: the 2019 US Open champion reached the third round in consecutive years in 2023 and 2024.
What makes this qualifying list particularly compelling right now is the mix of return narratives and form cues.. Pliskova. for instance. has been building momentum on clay at the Mutua Madrid Open this week. working through to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event.. That kind of performance doesn’t guarantee results in Paris. but it does signal that the timing of her game is aligning with the surface.
Beyond the big three. the qualifying draw is loaded with players who know what it takes to win on clay when the tournament “feels” crowded.. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is entered again; she was the 2021 runner-up earlier in her French Open journey and has prior major experience that can translate into decisive match play.. Paula Badosa, a former World No.. 2, returns as well, alongside two previous Paris semifinalists: Italy’s Martina Trevisan and Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek.
Zidansek’s presence adds another layer of urgency because of what she has already done in Paris.. Five years ago. she reached the final four and beat Badosa in a quarterfinal described as a tense. momentum-swinging match—an example of how meeting certain players on the right day can turn qualifying and early rounds into sudden breakpoints.
Qualifying also reflects tennis’s modern balancing act between merit and recovery.. Stephens and Trevisan are among seven players using injury-protected rankings to enter qualifying. including French contenders Oceane Dodin and former World No.. 10 Kristina Mladenovic, plus Robin Montgomery, the 2021 US Open junior champion.. The system can be controversial in discussion. but operationally it gives players who were sidelined the chance to rebuild their season without starting from the very bottom.
For viewers. that’s part of the drama: someone’s comeback isn’t just personal—it changes the rhythm of the field.. With injury-protected rankings and multiple tour veterans entering. qualifying becomes less like a warm-up and more like a miniature main draw.. The stakes rise again lower down the rankings too, where athletes are trying to convert momentum into opportunity.
Veronika Erjavec, ranked No.. 96 in the PIF WTA Rankings this week. is listed as the highest-ranked player entered in qualifying. with Francesca Jones. Badosa. Sinja Kraus and Kaja Juvan also among those carrying ranking-based curiosity.. These are precisely the profiles that can surprise: players who may not headline coverage but can be dangerous once the match becomes a point-by-point test rather than a reputation contest.
Ultimately. sixteen players will earn berths into the French Open main draw through qualifying. and eight wild cards are expected to complete the 128-player field.. Main-draw entry was confirmed two weeks ago with the vast majority of the top-ranked player group already in place—meaning qualifying doesn’t just determine participation; it determines which “almost there” stories get a second chance.. For Andreescu, Pliskova and Stephens, it’s a direct route back to Paris.. For everyone else. it’s the chance to stop waiting and start writing their own main-draw chapter—starting May 18. on clay where every match can feel like a turning point.