Roland-Garros main draw opens in Paris; play runs May 24–June 7

Roland-Garros opened main-draw play on Sunday, May 24, at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, beginning two weeks of competition that the tournament’s official schedule says will run through June 7. The French Open is the second Grand Slam of the year, and the 2026 edition started after an Opening Week that included qualifying and practice sessions at the Paris site. The tournament began with several of the biggest storylines already set. Coco Gauff entered Paris as the defending women’s champion, while Carlos Alcaraz was not in the field after withdrawing before first-round matches because of a right wrist injury, according to Olympics.com and other coverage. Jannik Sinner also arrived with attention on the men’s draw as he seeks a first Roland-Garros title, according to Olympics.com and USA Today. (rolandgarros.com) ### When did the main draw start, and how long does the event run? Sunday, May 24, was the first day of men’s and women’s first-round main-draw action, the official Roland-Garros site said. The tournament’s published calendar lists competition running through Sunday, June 7, covering singles, doubles and wheelchair events. (olympics.com) Paris is again hosting the event at Stade Roland Garros, where the official site is carrying live scores, draws, schedules and match coverage throughout the tournament. The site’s order-of-play pages also list daily scheduling updates as matches progress. ### Which names defined the opening-day conversation? Coco Gauff, 22, returned to Roland-Garros with the women’s title to defend after winning the 2025 championship. (rolandgarros.com) Olympics.com said the American came into Paris as the fourth seed and after reaching the Rome final. Carlos Alcaraz was absent from the men’s draw after withdrawing with a right wrist injury, according to Olympics.com. (rolandgarros.com) Yahoo Sports and UPI also reported that the injury would keep the Spaniard out of both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. Jannik Sinner entered the event pursuing his first French Open title, while Novak Djokovic was part of the opening-day spotlight under the lights, according to Roland-Garros coverage and other tournament previews. (olympics.com) ### What happened on Day 1 in Paris? (olympics.com) Alexander Zverev advanced on the opening day, with the official Roland-Garros site saying he cleared his first hurdle on Sunday. The Guardian’s live coverage also listed Emma Raducanu’s match against Solana Sierra among the focal points early in the tournament. The official site’s live feed also reported Marta Kostyuk moving into the second round on Sunday. (usatoday.com) Those early results came as the tournament shifted from Opening Week into full main-draw play across the grounds. ### How can viewers in the United States watch it? Max is carrying every match of the 2026 French Open in the United States, according to Tennis.com, Sporting News and Yahoo Sports. (rolandgarros.com) Tennis Channel is showing the first match of the day, along with doubles, juniors and studio coverage. The U.S. broadcast setup means viewers can follow the full draw on streaming while still using Tennis Channel for early windows and additional tournament programming. Tennis.com said TNT and truTV are also part of the broader Warner Bros. Discovery coverage plan. ### What comes next over the next two weeks? (tennis.com) Monday, May 25, is expected to include Gauff’s first-round match against Taylor Townsend, though a start time had not yet been announced in Sporting News coverage published Sunday. Daily order-of-play updates are being posted on the official Roland-Garros site. (tennis.com) Sunday, June 7, is the scheduled final day of the tournament, according to the official calendar. Between now and then, the official draw and results pages will track the progress of the singles and doubles fields in Paris. (rolandgarros.com) (sportingnews.com)