Roland-Garros qualifying begins May 18

Roland-Garros opened its 2026 qualifying tournament on Monday, May 18, starting the Paris major’s Opening Week program at Porte d’Auteuil, the tournament said. The French Open’s official site said qualifying launches the week of preliminary matches and public practice sessions before the main draw begins on Sunday, May 24. The tournament also published a provisional schedule showing the singles draws on Thursday, May 21 at 14:00 CEST and a series of Opening Week events spread across the grounds. A Thursday-night celebration built around Gael Monfils is among the headline events before first-round main-draw play starts. ### Which part of Roland-Garros started on May 18? Monday, May 18 marked the start of qualifying rather than the 128-player singles main draw. Roland-Garros said players in the qualifying rounds would “kick off the Opening Week” and begin the second Grand Slam event of the season from that date. The official results page shows qualifying draws already in progress in men’s singles. (rolandgarros.com) Opening Week runs from May 18 to May 22, according to the tournament’s ticketing and event pages. During that stretch, spectators can watch qualifying matches and training sessions before the main event opens later in the week. ### What can fans see during Opening Week besides qualifying matches? Court Philippe-Chatrier is open for practice sessions by main-draw players during Opening Week, according to Roland-Garros ticket information. (rolandgarros.com) The tournament’s qualifying page also said some of the top qualifying matches will be staged on Suzanne-Lenglen for the first time, with other matches on Courts 2 through 15. (rolandgarros.com) Thursday, May 21 is set to carry the busiest off-court program. Roland-Garros said fans will gather that night in the main stadium for a celebration of Monfils, who the tournament said is playing his final Roland-Garros before retiring at the end of 2026. The event, branded “Gaël & Friends,” is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., with Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga listed among the participants. (tickets.rolandgarros.com) Saturday, May 23 will feature Yannick Noah Day, which the tournament described as a family-oriented event on the grounds after the close of qualifying and before the main draw begins. ### When is the main draw ceremony? Thursday, May 21 at 14:00 CEST is the scheduled time for the singles draw ceremony, according to Roland-Garros’ Opening Week page. (rolandgarros.com) That ceremony sets the bracket for the men’s and women’s main draws ahead of first-round competition. The official results and draws page is the tournament’s central posting point for brackets once they are released. (rolandgarros.com) Roland-Garros has also published a full tournament schedule covering qualifying, singles, doubles, juniors and wheelchair events through June 7. ### When does the main tournament begin? (rolandgarros.com) Sunday, May 24 is the start date for main-draw play, according to the tournament’s full schedule. Roland-Garros said the 2026 event runs from May 18 through June 7, with the first six days devoted in part to qualifying and Opening Week activities before the championship rounds later in the fortnight. (rolandgarros.com) The tournament’s ticketing pages separate Opening Week from the later stages of competition, listing May 18-22 for qualifying access and later dates for the main competition on the show courts. ### Where are the official schedules and updates posted? Roland-Garros is posting schedules, draws, score updates and event details on its official website. (rolandgarros.com) The site’s Opening Week article, provisional schedule page and results page together show the key dates: qualifying from May 18, the singles draw on May 21 and main-draw play from May 24. (rolandgarros.com) June 7 is the listed end date for the 2026 tournament, according to the full schedule published by Roland-Garros. Before then, the next fixed public milestone is the Thursday, May 21 draw ceremony at 14:00 CEST, followed later that evening by the Monfils event on Philippe-Chatrier and then the start of main-draw matches on Sunday, May 24. (rolandgarros.com)