Roland Garros qualifying features big names

Roland-Garros opened its 2026 Opening Week on Monday, May 18, at Porte d’Auteuil in Paris, with qualifying matches starting before the main draw of the year’s second Grand Slam. The French Open’s official site said the grounds opened for a week that includes qualifying, practice sessions and other fan events ahead of the main tournament. The tournament site also published qualifying previews on Sunday that emphasized the number of established names trying to play their way into the singles brackets. Among them were former Grand Slam champions Sloane Stephens and Bianca Andreescu, and former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova. ### Why are those names in qualifying instead of the main draw? The Roland-Garros qualifying event is the route for players who were not placed directly into the main draw through the entry list. The official tournament site’s qualifying coverage framed this year’s field as unusually recognizable, with former champions, former top-10 players and younger prospects all mixed into the draw. The women’s preview published on May 17 said the field included “two former Grand Slam champions and a recent World No.1,” then identified Stephens, Andreescu and Pliskova among the players to watch. That means players with deep resumes on tour arrived in Paris needing three qualifying wins to reach the main draw. ### Who are the biggest names on the women’s side? Sloane Stephens entered qualifying as a former U.S. Open champion and a former French Open runner-up, giving the women’s field one of its most recognizable names. Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, was also listed by the tournament site as one of the headline players in qualifying. Karolina Pliskova brought the highest past ranking among the women highlighted by Roland-Garros. The official preview described her as a former world No. 1, placing her alongside Stephens and Andreescu as part of a qualifying draw with more established pedigree than usual. The same preview also pointed to former Roland-Garros semifinalists Martina Trevisan and Tamara Zidansek, adding more clay-court experience to the women’s field. Roland-Garros said qualifying began Monday around the grounds in Paris. ### Is this only a women’s qualifying story? The men’s draw also featured recognizable names, according to Roland-Garros. The official men’s preview published on May 17 highlighted former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov and former top players including David Goffin. The results page for the tournament showed a 128-player men’s qualifying bracket, with seeds and first-round matchups posted as play began. The official site identified Jesper de Jong as the top seed in men’s qualifying and Lanlana Tararudee as the top seed in women’s qualifying. ### What else is happening during Opening Week? Roland-Garros said Opening Week runs as the tournament grounds come to life before the main draw begins. The official schedule says the 2026 event runs from May 18 to June 7, with qualifying launching the second major of the season. The tournament’s Opening Week page said the period also includes practice sessions, fan activities and exhibition programming on site in Paris. Roland-Garros said the singles draws will be made on Thursday, followed by media day on Friday and Yannick Noah Day on Saturday. ### Where can readers track who gets through? The Roland-Garros results page is carrying live qualifying draws, matchups and results for the 2026 tournament. The site had already posted the qualifying brackets and first-round pairings by Monday. The next concrete step is three rounds of qualifying in Paris, after which the successful players will move into the main-draw field at Roland-Garros, whose full tournament schedule runs through June 7.