Roland Garros opened with the first major tests in the women's draw: favorites under pressure, former champions stopped early
The first round of the women's singles tournament at Roland Garros brought several clear messages right at the start of the competition: the Paris clay will not wait long before producing surprises, physical conditions can play an important role, and Grand Slam experience by itself is no longer a guarantee of a calm passage through the draw. According to the official tournament calendar, the main draw of Roland Garros 2026 is being played from May 24 to June 7 in Paris, and the women's tournament already opened in the first round with a series of stories that go beyond an ordinary list of results. A total of 128 players are competing in the singles draw, so the first stage is traditionally the broadest and most unpredictable: seeded players are only just adjusting to the surface and conditions, qualifiers and wild cards enter without major pressure, and any poor start to a match can mean an early end to a campaign.
Within that framework, the performances of Mirra Andreeva, Hailey Baptiste, Marta Kostyuk, Solana Sierra and several players who arrived in Paris with greater expectations, but left the tournament after their very first match, stood out in particular. According to WTA data, Roland Garros is played on clay, and this year's edition of the women's tournament, on Monday, May 25, 2026, is in the first-round stage, that is, in the round of 128. The official Roland Garros schedule states that first-round matches extend across the opening days of the main tournament, which means the complete picture has not yet been finalized, but the opening day already provided enough material to assess form, mental stability and the possible direction of the competition.
Andreeva confident on the main court
One of the cleanest performances of the first day was delivered by Mirra Andreeva, the eighth seed, who defeated Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro 6-3, 6-3. According to the WTA report, Andreeva controlled most of the match on Court Philippe-Chatrier and finished the job in one hour and 11 minutes, in conditions that were extremely demanding in Paris. Her victory also had a broader context because last year at Roland Garros she lost to a French wild card, Lois Boisson, so a new meeting with a home representative carried an additional psychological burden. This time, she did not allow the support from the stands to disrupt her basic game plan.
The WTA states that with this victory Andreeva reached her 16th win on clay this season, which at that moment was the best result on that surface in the women's competition. She also recorded her 12th victory in the Roland Garros main draw, at a tournament where she has already profiled herself as a player whose style and patience suit long rallies on a slower surface well. Ferro tried to bring uncertainty back into the match in the second set after trailing 4-1, reduced the deficit to 4-3 and had a chance to put further pressure on her opponent, but Andreeva remained calm in the key points. According to statistics from the WTA report, she saved six of seven break points, which describes well the difference between a solid performance and a mature Grand Slam victory.
Baptiste eliminated former champion Krejčíková
The most dramatic women's match of the opening day was the duel between Hailey Baptiste and Barbora Krejčíková, the 2021 Roland Garros champion. Baptiste won 6-7, 7-6, 6-2 after almost three hours of play, and she did so after saving two match points in the second set. According to the WTA report, the American had already shown earlier in the season that she knows how to survive almost lost situations, including a match in Madrid in which she saved six match points against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. In Paris, she repeated that pattern against a player who knows how to win the title at that tournament.
The match had an extremely thin line between victory and defeat. There was no break in the first set, and Krejčíková won the tie-break 9-7 after Baptiste had a set point. The Czech led 2-0 in the second set, but Baptiste came back and forced another tie-break. Krejčíková led 6-4 there, but the American took four points in a row and sent the match into a third set. After that, the psychological balance completely shifted to her side: two breaks gave her a 4-0 lead, and then passage into the second round. The WTA also points out that since winning the title in 2021, Krejčíková has advanced past the first round only once in the next five editions of the tournament, which makes this defeat a continuation of a longer Paris problem for the former champion.
Early exit for several Grand Slam champions
The first round was particularly unpleasant for some players with major titles in their careers. Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, lost to Solana Sierra 6-0, 7-6. According to the WTA, Sierra led 6-0 and 4-1, after which Raducanu managed to come back to 5-5 in the second set, but did not complete the turnaround. The Guardian reported that the Briton arrived in Paris after health problems and a lack of matches, which further explained why the first set was extremely one-sided. Although she showed a reaction later, in the second-set tie-break the Argentine remained more stable and took the opportunity for one of the most important victories of her career.
Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion and Roland Garros finalist the same year, lost to Peyton Stearns 6-3, 7-6. According to the WTA, Kenin thereby continued a difficult run because she lost her fourth consecutive match on the WTA Tour, and in 2026 she exited in her opening appearance at 10 of 13 tournaments. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion and 2018 Roland Garros finalist, was also stopped right at the beginning. After earning a place in the main tournament through qualifying, she lost to Sara Bejlek 6-3, 6-2. The WTA states that this is only the third time in 14 appearances in the Roland Garros main draw that Stephens has failed to win her opening match, which shows how unusual this defeat is in her Paris biography.
Kostyuk played after a difficult morning
Alongside the sporting result, Marta Kostyuk's performance had an especially powerful human dimension. The Ukrainian defeated Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3 in the first round, but the Associated Press reported that before the match she learned a rocket had hit a building near her parents' home in Ukraine. After the victory, Kostyuk said it had been one of the most difficult matches of her career, because she spent the morning fearing for her family members. According to AP, her mother, sister and great-aunt were in the house at the time, and no one was injured.
Such a context makes her passage into the second round much broader than a sporting result. Kostyuk managed to play a match in which she had to maintain concentration in long rallies, control her emotions and at the same time deal with information that would have made it completely impossible for many people to compete. AP states that after the match she received an ovation from the crowd on Court Simonne-Mathieu, and then spoke about how she was inspired by the resilience of people in Ukraine. In the second round she is expected to play against American Katie Volynets, which opens the sporting continuation of the tournament for her, but her opening performance has already become one of the most emotional stories at the start of Roland Garros.
Heat as an additional opponent
The opening days of the tournament were not demanding only because of opponents and Grand Slam pressure. The Associated Press reported that temperatures in Paris reached around 33 degrees Celsius, which affected players, spectators and the pace of matches. Although that part of the report also referred to the men's competition, the effect of the conditions was visible in the women's matches as well: the slower clay surface, long rallies and high temperature create a combination in which physical preparation becomes almost as important as technical quality. The WTA also emphasized in its report on Andreeva's victory that the match was played in humid conditions, which further enhances the value of convincing straight-set wins.
For players arriving in Paris after tournaments in different climate conditions, such a change can be abrupt. Clay demands more patience, more sliding and longer construction of points, so the heat increases the risk of lapses in concentration and physical decline. In the first round, this is especially important because many players are only just adapting to the rhythm of the main tournament, the training schedule and the atmosphere of the major courts. That is why results such as Andreeva's victory or Baptiste's comeback carry additional weight: they were not achieved in neutral conditions, but in circumstances in which every weakness becomes quickly visible.
Broader context of the women's tournament
The women's tournament at Roland Garros carries several major questions again this year. The official tournament website states that all draws and results are available through the tournament center, while the WTA emphasizes that the competition in Paris is a Grand Slam tournament on clay. The first round is only the beginning of a long road toward the final stages, but the early defeats of former Grand Slam champions have already opened space for players coming from the background. This is particularly important in the lower and middle sections of the draw, where one major exit can change projections for the third and fourth rounds.
In such a schedule, special attention will continue to be directed toward players who have already shown good clay-court form. Andreeva belongs in that group because of the large number of wins on clay this season and because of the way she dealt with an uncomfortable first match in front of the French crowd. Baptiste, on the other hand, shows the profile of a player who is difficult to close out when a match enters its final phase; the saved match points against Krejčíková are not only a statistical curiosity, but proof of the resilience that often decides Grand Slam tournaments. Sierra used her moment against Raducanu and confirmed how dangerous players can be when they enter a match without favorite status, but with a clear plan and a good feel for the surface.
The first round is not yet closed
Because the first round of the women's singles tournament is being played over several days, the picture of Roland Garros 2026 is still developing. According to the WTA tournament center, on May 25 the tournament is still on the second day of the round of 128, and the official Roland Garros schedule continues with matches that will complete the first round. This means that current assessments must be read as a snapshot of the start of the tournament, not as a final analysis of the entire first round. Still, it is already clear that the women's draw has opened dynamically, with a combination of expected victories, major comebacks and defeats of players with the highest career references.
For the continuation of the tournament, the most important question will be how well the seeded players manage to maintain stability after the opening pressure. Roland Garros traditionally rewards players who can repeat quality across several rounds, not only those who can play one excellent match. The first day showed that form on clay cannot be separated from mental resilience, health and adaptation to conditions. That is exactly why victories such as those of Andreeva, Baptiste and Kostyuk have a value greater than an ordinary passage into the second round: each of them, in a different way, showed what is needed to survive the start of the Paris Grand Slam.
Sources:
- Roland-Garros – official schedule and tournament calendar for 2026 (link)
- Roland-Garros – official results and draws center (link)
- WTA – official tournament center for Roland Garros 2026, women's tournament results and schedule (link)
- WTA – report on Mirra Andreeva's victory against Fiona Ferro (link)
- WTA – report on Hailey Baptiste's victory against Barbora Krejčíková and early exits of Grand Slam champions (link)
- Associated Press – report on Marta Kostyuk's performance and conditions at the start of Roland Garros (link)
- The Guardian – report on Emma Raducanu's defeat and Solana Sierra's victory (link)