Roland‑Garros sets main-draw ceremony for May 21 at 14:00 CEST

Roland-Garros will hold its 2026 main-draw ceremony on Thursday, May 21, from 2:00 p.m. CEST, according to the tournament’s official schedule. Qualifying began on Monday, May 18, at Porte d’Auteuil in Paris, and the main draw is scheduled to start on Sunday, May 24. The ceremony is the point at which seeded players are placed into the bracket and first-round matchups are set. (rolandgarros.com) Jannik Sinner arrives as the men’s world No. 1, while Coco Gauff returns to Paris as the reigning women’s champion. ### When exactly is the draw ceremony? Thursday, May 21, is the date listed by Roland-Garros for the main-draw ceremony, with the event set to begin at 2:00 p.m. local time. The same official schedule shows qualifying matches and practice sessions continuing earlier that day. (rolandgarros.com) Olympics.com’s published day-by-day program for the tournament also places Roland-Garros 2026 between May 18 and June 7 in Paris, matching the broader tournament window shown by the French Open’s official site. ### What does the ceremony actually decide? The main-draw ceremony determines where seeded players land in the bracket and who they are lined up to face in the opening round. (rolandgarros.com) Once the draw is made, the official Roland-Garros draws page is where the completed singles brackets are posted. The ceremony matters because it fixes the path through the tournament before a ball is struck in the main draw. (rolandgarros.com) That includes potential early-round meetings, quarterfinal sections and the placement of the top seeds in each half. ### Where is the tournament in the calendar right now? (olympics.com) Monday, May 18, marked the start of Opening Week, with men’s and women’s singles qualifying rounds beginning that day, according to the official schedule. Tuesday, May 19, and Wednesday, May 20, are also reserved for qualifying and practice. Saturday, May 23, is listed as Yannick Noah Day. (rolandgarros.com) Sunday, May 24, is the first day of main-draw singles play, with first-round matches scheduled across the show courts and outer courts. ESPN’s 2026 ATP schedule also lists Roland Garros as running from May 24 to June 7. ### Which players are the main names going into the draw? (rolandgarros.com) Jannik Sinner goes into Roland-Garros as the men’s world No. 1, according to ATP Tour coverage published during the Italian Open in Rome. Roland-Garros’ entry-list coverage also said Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the 2026 edition with a wrist injury, leaving Sinner at the front of the men’s field. Coco Gauff returns as defending women’s champion. (rolandgarros.com) The WTA’s Roland Garros entry-list coverage identified Gauff as the defending champion, and WTA coverage from Rome said she was preparing for a French Open title defense after reaching the final there. ### Where will the bracket appear once it is set? The Roland-Garros results and draws page is the official destination for the completed bracket once the ceremony is finished. (rolandgarros.com) The tournament site already hosts the qualifying draws and is set up to publish the main-draw PDFs and match paths. Sunday, May 24, is the next fixed date after the ceremony, when first-round singles matches begin in Paris. The tournament then runs through June 7, according to the official schedule and Olympics.com’s event page. (atptour.com) (rolandgarros.com 1) (rolandgarros.com 2) (wtatennis.com)