cnn
—
It felt like the beginning of the end of an era at the French Open when Rafael Nadal announced his absence from the tournament earlier this month.
Having battled a hip injury since the Australian Open, Nadal, a 14-time champion at Roland-Garros, will miss the year's second Grand Slam for the first time since his debut in 2005.
He also announced that next year will be his last in professional tennis, which, when it comes, will be a defining moment in the history of the clay-court Major, a competition that Nadal has dominated for so long.
For now, there is the more pressing question of who will win this year's French Open in Paris, when it begins on Sunday and concludes on June 11.
In the United States, the French Open is available to watch on NBC, the Peacock streaming service, Tennis Channel and Bally Sports. In European territories except France, the tournament is broadcast on Eurosport.
A list of international broadcasters and the full draw are available on the French Open website.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz is a clay court specialist and was undefeated in 12 matches before suffering a shock defeat against world No. 115 Fábián Marozsán at the Italian Open.
If he wants to capture his second major title, the 20-year-old may have to overcome two-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
A victory in Paris would allow Djokovic to win his 23rd Grand Slam title and surpass Nadal at the top of the men's all-time list, further strengthening his claim as the greatest men's tennis player in history.
But the Serb, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, has struggled this season on clay, failing to advance past the quarter-finals of three events and missing another with an elbow injury.
“A new generation is here,” Djokovic said after his quarterfinal loss at the Italian Open.
“I mean, Alcaraz is number one in the world since [May 22]. Obviously, he's playing incredible tennis. I think it's also good for our sport that we have new faces, new guys coming up. It is normal.
“We've been saying this for years, that we can expect the time to come when there's a kind of change of generations.”
Djokovic's failure to win a title since the Australian Open and Alcaraz's surprise defeat in Rome may give hope to some of the other rivals in Paris this year.
Daniil Medvedev, last week's Italian Open champion, is in excellent form and has the advantage of being on the opposite side of the draw from Alcaraz and Djokovic.
Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas, both former French Open finalists, will be hoping to make deep runs, while sixth seed Holger Rune looks like a star for the future having toppled Djokovic at the Italian Open.
In the women's draw, two-time French Open champion Iga Światek is the favorite, although she has not shown the same dominance on clay compared to last year, when she clinched the title thanks to a record victory in 37 matches. streak.
Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina, ranked second and fourth in the world respectively, have become fierce rivals to Światek at the top of women's football and have both beaten the Polish star in the last month.
That trio, now called the “Big Three” by some, has triumphed in the last four Grand Slams: Światek at the French and US Opens, Rybakina at Wimbledon and Sabalenka in Australia.
“The conditions in Paris should favor Światek, she feels comfortable there and is showing that she is definitely playing at a high level of tennis,” said Eurosport expert and former world number 7 Barbara Schett before the tournament.
“I think it is good for Iga to have these two players [Sabalenka and Rybakina] that can challenge her and keep her in the number one spot,” Schett added.
Światek, who has been world number one for more than a year, could be dethroned by Sabalenka at the top of the ranking after the French Open. She begins her campaign against the Spanish Cristina Bucșa.
Women's tennis has been plagued by controversy in recent weeks, refocusing attention on the women's draw schedule at Roland-Garros.
At the Madrid Open: the ball girls on the main court were ordered to wear short tops and short skirts and the players in the doubles final were not allowed to speak after the match.
The ball girls' skirts were later changed to long shorts (although the crop tops remained) and tournament organizer Gerard Tsobanian said it was “unacceptable” not to give the finalists a chance to speak to fans at the end. of his party.
Then, at the Italian Open, the final between Rybakina and Anhelina Kalinina was rescheduled due to rain and did not start until 11:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, a situation for former player Rennae Stubbs. described as an “abomination.”
The WTA, however, said postponing the match was “the right thing to do” in a statement to Reuters.
Questions about scheduling may linger in the coming weeks, given the way the night sessions at last year's French Open were analyzed.
Only one of the 10 matches scheduled as a night session in 2022 featured a women's match: the second round match between Alizé Cornet and Jelena Ostapenko. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo explained that men's tennis has more “appeal” than women's tennis, to which Światek responded by calling Mauresmo's comments “disappointing.”
There is no shortage of star appeal at this year's French Open.
Alongside the talented trio of Światek, Sabalenka and Rybakina, the likes of Jessica Pegula, Caroline García, Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur, none of whom have won a Grand Slam, will compete for the title at Roland-Garros.
