Roland Garros draw set May 21

Roland Garros was due to stage its French Open singles main-draw ceremony at 2 p.m. local time on Thursday, May 21, with qualifying already under way in Paris and the tournament moving from practice week into its competitive bracket phase. (rolandgarros.com) The French Tennis Federation’s official tournament site said the draw would be held at L’Orangerie in the Jardin des Serres d’Auteuil and streamed live on Roland-Garros channels. The ceremony sets the men’s and women’s singles brackets for the clay-court major, which the tournament says runs from May 18 to June 7. (rolandgarros.com) On the women’s side, the official entry list names Aryna Sabalenka as world No. 1, while Coco Gauff returns as defending champion. (rolandgarros.com) ### When exactly is the draw, and where can people follow it? Thursday, May 21 is the date Roland Garros set for the singles draw ceremony, and the official site said fans could watch it live at 2 p.m. in Paris. A tournament preview said the event would be staged in L’Orangerie, beside Court Simonne-Mathieu, while the homepage on Thursday carried a “Watch the Roland-Garros draw live at 2pm” prompt. The provisional schedule published by Roland Garros shows Thursday as part of opening week, with practice from the main draw and qualifying matches continuing during the day. That means the bracket ceremony comes before first-round main-draw singles matches begin later in the week. (rolandgarros.com) ### Which names are at the center of the women’s draw? Aryna Sabalenka is the women’s top seed, according to Roland Garros’ entry-list page, which describes her as the current world No. 1. The same page says Coco Gauff is back to defend the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen after winning the 2025 title in Paris. (rolandgarros.com) Roland Garros’ draw preview also listed the top four women’s seeds as Sabalenka, Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini, with Iga Swiatek, Mirra Andreeva, Madison Keys and Zheng Qinwen rounding out the top eight. That seeding order shapes the quarter-by-quarter possibilities once the bracket is made. (rolandgarros.com) ### What else has already been set before the draw? May 11 was the date Roland Garros announced wild cards for the 2026 edition, with the article updated on May 13 after Lorenzo Musetti’s withdrawal moved Stan Wawrinka directly into the main draw. Tournament director Amélie Mauresmo and French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton said the wild cards covered both qualifying and main-draw singles events. (rolandgarros.com) The official entry list, updated on May 21, also noted at least one women’s withdrawal: France’s Varvara Gracheva, ranked No. 59, was listed as out because of injury. Roland Garros said four women entered using protected rankings: Sara Sorribes Tormo, Jil Teichmann, Danka Kovinic and Anhelina Kalinina. (rolandgarros.com) ### Why is prize money part of the conversation before the first main-draw match? The Athletic reported on May 20 that a group of leading players pushing for higher prize money and other reforms at the Grand Slams planned a media protest at the French Open. Yahoo, citing that reporting, said the 2026 French Open prize pool is up 9.5% from 2025 to $72.3 million. (rolandgarros.com) NBC Sports, in an Associated Press report, said players were preparing to scale back media duties to protest their share of tournament revenue, while the French Tennis Federation said it would maintain an open dialogue and had proposed a meeting with players and their representatives. (rolandgarros.com) ### What happens next once the bracket is revealed? May 24 is the start date Roland Garros gave for the women’s and men’s singles main draw when it announced the 2026 wild cards. The tournament’s official results page is set up to publish the men’s and women’s singles brackets once they are loaded, and opening-week programming continues on May 23 before first-round play begins. (nytimes.com) (rolandgarros.com) (nbcsports.com)