French Open qualifiers disrupted by rain May 18

French Open qualifying opened on May 18 at Roland-Garros with weather already disrupting play. Rain interrupted several first-day matches in Paris, leaving parts of the opening qualifying schedule unsettled as players tried to move through the week before the main event begins. Tournament organizers have kept the broader calendar in place, with the singles main draw still scheduled to start on May 24. One match on Tuesday’s qualifying slate is Karman Kaur Thandi against Harmony Tan in women’s first-round qualifying. ### Which part of the tournament was affected first? May 18 was the first day of qualifying at Roland-Garros, according to the tournament’s official schedule. That opening week stage is reserved for women’s and men’s singles qualifying rounds before the main draw starts later in the week. Yahoo Sports reported that several qualifying matches were interrupted by rain on the first day. The stoppages came on the outdoor clay courts that host the qualifying rounds, creating delays at the very start of the event. ### What does qualifying week look like at Roland-Garros? Roland-Garros says qualifying runs from Monday, May 18, through Friday, May 22, as part of its “Opening Week” program. The official tournament schedule lists qualifying play on May 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, with practice sessions for main-draw players also taking place during that period. The same schedule says the main-draw ceremony is set for Thursday, May 21, from 2:00 p.m. local time. Main-draw singles matches are then due to begin on Sunday, May 24, from 11:00 a.m., according to the tournament website. ### Why does rain matter more in qualifying? (rolandgarros.com) Qualifying matches are spread across multiple outside courts at Roland-Garros. When rain interrupts play early in the week, unfinished matches can spill into the following day’s order of play and compress the schedule for players who still need multiple wins to reach the main draw. The official Roland-Garros order-of-play page for the qualifying phase showed the qualifying day markers for May 18 through May 22, but also noted that the detailed order of play was not yet available at the time of access. (rolandgarros.com) That means the broad calendar is fixed even when the court-by-court schedule shifts. ### Which players are still moving through the disrupted schedule? Karman Kaur Thandi is one of the players scheduled in women’s first-round qualifying on May 19. Outlook India reported that Thandi was due to face France’s Harmony Tan on Tuesday in the women’s singles qualifying draw. (rolandgarros.com) ATP Tour coverage of the men’s qualifying draw also identified established names trying to play their way into the tournament, including Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin. Dimitrov was drawn to face Jaime Faria, while Goffin was set to open against Chun-Hsin Tseng. ### What happens next in Paris? Thursday, May 21, is the next fixed milestone on the Roland-Garros calendar because that is when the main-draw ceremony is scheduled to take place. (outlookindia.com) Qualifying matches are listed through May 22, giving organizers limited time to complete the preliminary rounds before the main event. (atptour.com) Sunday, May 24, is the scheduled start of the women’s and men’s singles first round at Roland-Garros. Until then, players in qualifying — including Thandi and Tan on May 19 — are trying to come through a weather-hit opening week and claim places in the main draw. (rolandgarros.com)