The French Open gets underway on Sunday – but who will lift the women’s singles title at the end of a thrilling fortnight in Paris?
Here, we make our Roland Garros predictions.
First Quarter
Projected Q/F: (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs (8) Zheng Qinwen
Sabalenka has been a cut above the rest in 2025 and has proven her Slam credentials on hard courts – so can she now win a Slam on the natural surfaces?
The Belarusian is the top seed at Roland Garros for the first time and has been handed a kind draw early on, with no obvious dangers in the opening few rounds.
Sixteenth seed Amanda Anisimova or 22nd seed Clara Tauson are threats in the round of 16, though she hasn’t failed to make the last eight of a Grand Slam she’s played since this tournament three years ago.
Perhaps the most significant test would be a projected quarter-final against Qinwen, the eighth seed beating Sabalenka for the first time in Rome last week.
The Chinese was the Olympic champion in Paris last summer, and her form has improved after a rocky start to the year – though 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is not an easy opener.
With 11th seed Diana Shnaider also in the section, the eighth seed will not find things easy.
Prediction: Sabalenka def Qinwen
Second Quarter
Projected Q/F: (4) Jasmine Paolini vs (5) Iga Swiatek
A rematch of last year’s final could take place as early as the quarter-final in 2025, though the dynamics between Paolini and Swiatek have changed significantly.
A surprise finalist twelve months ago, Paolini has cemented her place in the top 10 and enters this year full of confidence after Rome, while Swiatek has not won a title since her fourth Roland Garros win in 2024.
The Pole has slipped down to world No 5 in the rankings and faces an array of issues in her game, and does not have an easy draw in Paris.
Swiatek should beat Rebecca Sramkova in round one and potentially Emma Raducanu in round two, though could then face 26th seed Marta Kostyuk in round three, and then 12th seed Elena Rybakina or 21st seed Jelena Ostapenko – her ultimate nemesis – in round four.
Any one of those three could prove a test for Swiatek in a challenging season, but it still feels hard to go against her in Paris.
The question is whether she can potentially see off Paolini, who has surely silenced ‘one-season wonder’ talk in recent weeks.
The fourth seed herself does not have an easy draw to make the last eight, particularly with 13th seed Elina Svitolina a likely round-four test.
Prediction: Swiatek def Paolini
Third Quarter
Projected Q/F: (6) Mirra Andreeva vs (3) Jessica Pegula
Twelve months on from her stunning Grand Slam debut, is Andreeva ready to make back-to-back semi-finals at Roland Garros?
The 18-year-old has been one of the biggest stories of 2025 following her Dubai and Indian Wells triumphs, and her clay season was solid enough to suggest she is a threat.
Andreeva has a hugely advantageous draw on paper with 10th seed Paula Badosa, struggling with injury and up against Naomi Osaka in round one, the highest-ranked opponent in her mini-section.
The toughest part of this quarter faces third seed Pegula, who’s clay momentum has dropped off after her triumph in Charleston early in the spring.
Pegula could face any one of 25th seed Magdalena Frech, Marketa Vondrousova, or Ons Jabeur in round three, and then a tough fourth-round match as well.
Fourteenth seed and 2023 runner-up Karolina Muchova is projected to reach the fourth round and meet the American, though Maria Sakkari and 24th seed Elise Mertens also lurk.
Prediction: Andreeva def Muchova
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Fourth Quarter
Projected Q/F: (7) Madison Keys vs (2) Coco Gauff
An American-heavy section could deliver an all-US quarter-final between Australian Open champion Keys and Gauff, who comes into Roland Garros after Madrid and Rome runner-up finishes.
The momentum of seventh seed Keys has slightly cooled since her triumph Down Under, and a potential round three against 31st seed and 2020 runner-up Sofia Kenin could prove an intriguing test.
Also potentially awaiting Keys in round for his ninth seed Emma Navarro, who beat her compatriot at Roland Garros in 2024 – and beat Gauff at both Wimbledon and the US Open last year.
Either one of Keys, Kenin, or Navarro would be a test for the world No 2 in the last eight, but could she be threatened on her way there?
Gauff has been dealt an incredibly kind draw, with injury concerns circling the two seeds she is projected to face: 30th seed Anna Kalinskaya and 15th seed Barbora Krejčíková.
Prediction: Gauff def Navarro
Semi-final Predictions
Sabalenka def Swiatek
Gauff def Andreeva
Final Prediction
Sabalenka def Gauff
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