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We’ve arrived at the second major on the 2025 tennis calendar, as the French Open gets underway this Sunday at Roland Garros in Paris, France. This tournament has historically been dominated by Spanish legend and 14-time champion Rafael Nadal, but this year’s edition is the first one since his retirement. Although fans may believe this is a sign that the field is finally wide open, that’s not the case. A duo of young stars, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, will aim to face off in the final, as they are the current best players on the ATP Tour.
Let’s get into my 2025 Men’s French Open preview and provide a few players I anticipate will make a deep run at Roland Garros.
Sinner and Alcaraz are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and favorites to lift La Coupe des Mousquetaires, but here are 10 players with the best chance to win this year’s French Open:
While the two top seeds are favorites, Alexander Zverev is still seeking his first major tournament win, 37-year-old Novak Djokovic could challenge them, and Casper Ruud has won this tournament twice. So, there will be plenty of challenges along the way.
The 2024 French Open was the final tournament for Nadal, as he fell in the first round to Zverev. Although he finished his career with a 112-4 record in Paris, it was a disappointing way to go out. Zverev would make a run to the final before falling to Alcaraz in five sets: 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 1-6 and 2-6. This was the Spaniard’s third Grand Slam title, and it felt like it was a takeover for the retired Nadal. Alcaraz could make a statement by winning back-to-back French Opens, which has only been done by a select few, most recently Nadal from 2005 to 2008 (four in a row).
Although it’s hard to go against Alcaraz given his success from last year and recent form (he defeated Sinner in the Italian Open last weekend), I expect Sinner to bounce back. The world No. 1 and top-ranked Italian was playing in Rome for the first time since receiving a doping ban, which resulted in a three-month suspension. The fact that he made it to the final in Rome and dispatched Ruud 6-0, 6-1 along the way showed me that he’s nearly back into form. Although he fell to Alcaraz in Italy, he’d take revenge in Paris.
Another Italian I have my eyes on is Lorenzo Musetti. Outside of Sinner and Alcaraz, you’d be pressed to find a player in better form than Musetti. He’s the World No. 8 and historically plays well on clay. The Italian was the runner-up in Monte-Carlo and posted back-to-back semifinal appearances in Madrid and Rome. Finally, he captured a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which was right here at Roland Garros.
The final player worth targeting in this year’s French Open is Zverev. As mentioned earlier, the German is still searching for his first major win and is looking to improve on his final appearance from last year. He isn’t playing his best tennis right now, but he no longer has the pressure of trying to capture the World No. 1 ranking (like he did when Sinner was suspended), so we could see a revitalized Zverev. Overall, I expect Sinner to take home this year’s French Open, but it’s worth keeping your eyes on Zverev and Musetti in Paris the next few weeks.
Luke Lindholm is an avid basketball, baseball, football, hockey and soccer fan who specializes in writing promotional content for multiple sportsbooks and prediction-based articles across a variety of sports. His work has been featured on prominent websites including Sports Illustrated, Pickswise, Men’s Journal, TheStreet, Athlon Sports and more. He started as a college football handicapper for Pickswise in 2016 and is a current member of the Pickswise NFL handicapping team.