Five RotoWire tennis experts give their takes on their fantasy tennis snake draft strategies, sleepers and reaches for the French Open through the U.S. Open after participating in an eight-team fantasy tennis draft on the Drop Shot.
The draft took place Wednesday night, prior to the French Open draw coming out, and the league will run through the U.S. Open, with fantasy points accrued during the French Open, Wimbledon, Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open and U.S. Open. Each team has 10 roster spots and will start eight players at each tournament.
Ryan Pohle (Pick 1):
My strategy: focus on players that are great on clay! Seems obvious, right? So it's no surprise that my only American is Emma Navarro, my last-round pick. I have the two Madrid winners in Jannik Sinner and Marta Kostyuk, while Arthur Fils made the semis there. Elina Svitolina is also coming off winning Rome, and Qinwen Zheng won the gold medal on these courts two years ago.
Favorite Sleeper: Anastasia Potapova. Clay has always been Potapova's best surface, and it's the only major at which she has a winning record. She made the fourth round here two years ago before losing to eventual champion, Iga Swiatek. The 25-year-old had a great run in Madrid, losing in three sets in the semis to champion Marta Kostyuk, and she beat Elena Rybakina and Jelena Ostapenko along the way. She'll likely meet Coco Gauff in the third round, whom Potapova has beaten twice, including their most recent meeting on clay, 6-2, 6-3 in 2023.
Juan Pablo Aravena (Pick 5):
I've selected a mix of players for my team, choosing some who are clay-court specialists and others who are just too talented not to pick them. Having Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev is risky, as neither is known for being at their best on clay, but in a field without Carlos Alcaraz (wrist), both have an excellent chance to reach the later rounds. Zverev reached the French Open final in 2024, while Medvedev's best finish in France was reaching the quarterfinals in 2021.
Among the specialists, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jasmine Paolini stand out. Davidovich Fokina has a 53.1 percent winning percentage on clay in his career, which is his best on any surface, and he's one of the top sleeper picks to make a deep run in the French Open. Meanwhile, Paolini posted a 25-8 record on clay between 2024 and 2025, and she reached the French Open final in 2025. A 2-3 mark in 2026 is far from inspiring, but she's talented enough to do a better job.
Last but not least, keep an eye on American sensation Learner Tien. The 20-year-old is one of the best prospects on the ATP Tour, and he could make a statement in France. He lost in the first round in his debut in 2025, but he's better equipped to make a deeper run this time around.
Sasha Yodashkin (Pick 6):
I didn't set out to draft a WTA-heavy roster but that's the way the board fell in the early rounds, and I got excellent value with four top-10 WTA studs in my top four draft picks, including both of my picks to reach the French Open final. All five tournaments on this league's schedule (French Open, Wimbledon, Canadian Open, Cincinnati Open and U.S. Open) featured at least one of Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Amanda Anisimova or Victoria Mboko in the final last year.
I made sure to balance my team out with some ATP sleepers in the later rounds. Flavio Cobolli and Karen Khachanov offer solid floors as top-15 players, while Alexander Blockx and Dino Prizmic are both next-gen talents who have stepped up their results recently. With Carlos Alcaraz out through at least Wimbledon, there should be opportunities for some of these other men to find favorable draws and make deep runs.
My best value could wind up being Hailey Baptiste in Round 7, as the 24-year-old American looks ready to make a breakout Grand Slam run after some strong recent showings in WTA 1000 events, including a win over Aryna Sabalenka en route to the semifinals of the Madrid Open. Jelena Ostapenko in Round 8 was also a high-ceiling pick since she's always capable of making the second week and is a former French Open champion.
Steve Bulanda (Pick 8):
Unfortunately, I drew the eighth spot in the draft, so the top three women and top four men were already off the board. That means Grand Slam titles are going to be tough to come by, as the seven picks in front of me have accounted for 26 of those past 32 titles.
With that in mind, I felt like I had to take some big swings at upside. Casper Ruud was my "safe" first round pick - a proven winner and player who has been particularly strong in the French Open, making two finals appearances and a semifinal in the past four years. I then turned my attention to finding the next breakout superstars and drafted a pair of 19-year-olds in Rafael Jodar and Joao Fonseca, who currently sit 29th and 30th in the ATP rankings. My favorite sleeper pick came in the sixth round with 18-year-old American Iva Jovic. She's one of the fastest risers in the sport, going from being ranked 206th at the end of 2024 to 35th in 2025 and has now risen to 17th in the WTA rankings.
