Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek, the past two Roland Garros champions, are on track for a blockbuster semifinal meeting in Paris after landing in the same half of the draw on Thursday.
The Australian and the Pole, considered the favourites for the women’s title, are joined in a loaded top half by fellow French champions Garbine Muguruza and Jelena Ostapenko, 2020 finalist Sofia Kenin, perennial top-10 stars Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova, and rising talent Coco Gauff.
DRAW: Roland Garros women's singles
But the bottom half contains arguably even more star power, with major champions Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber all clustered together, along with in-form No.3 seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Major storylines
The women’s draw unofficially has two defending champions, with 2019 winner Barty absent from the 2020 field when Swiatek swept to the title.
Both are undefeated on Parisian clay in their past seven matches and have been two of the premier performers on the surface in 2021.
Sabalenka is another who has flourished on clay, with the Madrid champion – now a top-five star – looking to go beyond the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her burgeoning career.
Williams continues her chase for a record-equalling 24th major singles title but enters the event with few matches under her belt after early losses in Rome and Parma. Muguruza and Andreescu are similarly dangerous but similarly underprepared, arriving in Paris under injury clouds.
READ MORE: Swiatek ready to contend again at Roland Garros, says Dokic
No.2 seed Osaka, who won the past two majors in New York and Melbourne, has struggled again with the transition to clay, and has since made the unprecedented announcement that she will not undertake any media duties during the tournament in an attempt to preserve her mental health.
Gauff, meanwhile, is seeded at a Grand Slam event for the first time in her career, with the 17-year-old having recently cracked the top 25 following her tournament victory in Parma and semifinal run in Rome.
Projected quarterfinals
[1] Ash Barty v [5] Elina Svitolina
Barty has won her past three matches against Svitolina, who has three times reached the quarters in Paris. But it’s a tough path for the Aussie world No.1, who opens against tricky lefty Bernarda Pera before a potential third-round meeting with No.25 seed Ons Jabeur, a player very much at home on clay. Gauff or AO 2021 finalist Jennifer Brady could await in the last 16.
Svitolina, who starts against French wildcard Oceane Babel, could face resistance in the third round from 32nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, American legend Venus Williams or in-form Czech Barbora Krejcikova. That precedes a projected fourth-round meeting with Pliskova, who recently reached the final in Rome and who confronts a tough segment also containing Donna Vekic, Sloane Stephens, Carla Suarez Navarro and No.18 seed Karolina Muchova.
[8] Iga Swiatek v [4] Sofia Kenin
A Swiatek-Kenin quarterfinal would be a rematch of their 2020 Roland Garros final. Yet Kenin is struggling for form, and had the misfortune of drawing Ostapenko, a French champion in 2017 who smacked her way to the Rome quarterfinals just two weeks ago. Should Kenin survive that, impressive seeds Jessica Pegula, Elise Mertens and Maria Sakkari could block her path in either the third or fourth rounds.
Swiatek opens against friend Kaja Juvan and could face dangerous clay-courter Shelby Rogers in round two. No.30 seed Anett Kontaveit looms in round three but it’s the potential blockbuster against Muguruza in the last 16 that has captured attention. Muguruza faces a tough opponent in Marta Kostyuk first up, and may have to play fellow in-form Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in round two.
[7] Serena Williams v [3] Aryna Sabalenka
Williams, who opens against Irina-Camelia Begu, could play Kerber in the third round, which would mark an intriguing rematch of their Australian Open and Wimbledon finals of 2016. Beyond that looms Kvitova, the 11th seed who could meet Williams or Kerber in a fourth-round stoush.
Should the seedings hold, Williams would take on Sabalenka in a fabulous quarterfinal clash following on from their high-intensity meeting in the fourth round at AO 2021. Yet Sabalenka, who has drawn a qualifier, must contend with seeds Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Madison Keys and Victoria Azarenka in her wedge of the draw. Or, potentially, two-time French champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who meets Azarenka in perhaps the pick of the first-round matches at Roland Garros.
[2] Naomi Osaka v [6] Bianca Andreescu
Osaka has never been beyond the third round in Paris. And Andreescu has barely player on clay in her career. It would be a blockbuster quarterfinal meeting, but it’s unlikely given their respective lead-ups to Paris. Andreescu takes on the gritty Tamara Zidansek – 10-4 on clay this year – in round one and could in the last 32 face Veronika Kudermetova, the surging Russian who plays 2019 semifinalist Amanda Anisimova first up.
Osaka, meanwhile, seems to have a relatively clear path through to the second week, opening against Romanian Patricia Maria Tig and seeded to meet Alison Riske – a player who struggles on clay – in round three. Clay-court giant-killer Kiki Bertens looms in round four but the 16th seed is underdone as she continues her comeback from Achilles surgery. Former finalist Marketa Vondrousova is also in this segment.
Best first-round matches
[25] Ons Jabeur v Yulia Putintseva
[13] Jennifer Brady v Anastasija Sevastova
[9] Karolina Pliskova v Donna Vekic
Sloane Stephens v Carla Suarez Navarro
[32] Ekaterina Alexandrova v Venus Williams
[4] Sofia Kenin v Jelena Ostapenko
[12] Garbine Muguruza v Marta Kostyuk
[15] Victoria Azarenka v Svetlana Kuznetsova
[29] Veronika Kudermetova v Amanda Anisimova
[10] Belinda Bencic v Nadia Podoroska
[20] Marketa Vondrousova v Kaia Kanepi