The second tennis Grand Slam of 2026 begins Sunday, May 24 from the red clay courts of Roland Garros in Paris, France. The women's draw has a significantly higher number of realistic title contenders compared to the men's draw, but world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek stand out as the favorites in this deep draw, which features three Americans in the top six seeds, including defending French Open champion Coco Gauff.
Before we get to the favorites, contenders and sleepers at the French Open, let's acknowledge some notable injuries and absences. Marketa Vondrousova (shoulder) and Veronika Kudermetova (undisclosed) will miss the tournament due to injuries, while Danielle Collins and the pregnant Ons Jabeur also aren't among the French Open entrants. On the bright side, all three of Amanda Anisimova (wrist), Marta Kostyuk (hip) and Madison Keys (thigh) are in the draw after recently dealing with injuries.
The list of legitimate title contenders is much longer in the women's draw compared to the men's draw, as five WTA players have title odds of +900 or shorter. After each player's name below, you will see their title odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Other best sports betting sites for betting both tennis futures and individual matches include FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook. Tennis Odds & Lines can vary quite substantially, especially for long shots, so you are encouraged to shop around for the best lines if you have access to multiple sports betting apps. We offer exclusive sportsbook promos in states where sports betting has gone live.
French Open WTA Picks
The Favorite for the 2026 French Open
Aryna Sabalenka (+250) - Sabalenka and Swiatek (+275) have flip-flopped as roughly co-favorites heading into the tournament, but Sabalenka winds up with the slight edge in the eyes of the oddsmakers. The top-ranked Belarusian is 27-3 overall in 2026 but just 4-2 on clay, with clay-court losses to Hailey Baptiste and Sorana Cirstea. Sabalenka performs well on all surfaces but certainly has a preference for hard courts, having played in each of the last seven hard-court Grand Slam finals. Her runner-up finish at last year's French Open was Sabalenka's best career result here, topping her semifinal showing from 2023. Sabalenka has the highest floor on the WTA Tour, as she hasn't fallen short of the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam appearance since a third-round exit at the 2022 French Open. She shouldn't have much trouble getting through the early rounds before possibly facing Naomi Osaka or American teenager Iva Jovic in the Round of 16. Jessica Pegula, Victoria Mboko or Madison Keys are potential quarterfinal opponents for the world No. 1, while a rematch of last year's French Open championship match against Coco Gauff is a possibility in the semifinals.
In the Mix for the 2026 French Open
Iga Swiatek (+275) - Swiatek is basically the co-favorite along with Sabalenka, and Iga looks more appealing at roughly even odds considering the third-seeded Pole has already won this title four times, including a threepeat from 2022 through 2024. The queen of clay has had a disappointing season so far in 2026 (18-9 overall record), but Swiatek seemed to find her form under new coach Francisco Roig at the Italian Open, dropping just seven games across three consecutive dominant performances against Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Osaka and Pegula before falling in three sets against Elina Svitolina in the semifinals. Swiatek remains the best clay-court player on the WTA Tour when she's on her game, but she could face an early test in the third round against 29th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, who has a dominant 6-0 head-to-head edge over Iga. If Swiatek beats Ostapenko, the confidence boost from that win could be enough to carry Swiatek to a fifth French Open title, past the likes of Marta Kostyuk in the Round of 16, Svitolina in the quarterfinals, Elena Rybakina or Mirra Andreeva in the semifinals, and Sabalenka or Gauff in the championship match.
Elena Rybakina (+650) - Rybakina has had an outstanding year, winning her second career Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and adding a WTA 500-level clay-court title in Stuttgart en route to a 30-7 record in 2026. Her big serve and powerful ground game fit best in faster conditions, but Rybakina has repeatedly shown that she can hit through opponents even on the slower clay, and the two-time French Open quarterfinalist has been playing arguably the best tennis of her career in recent months. Seeded No. 2 here, Rybakina could face Baptiste in the third Round, Jasmine Paolini or Sorana Cirstea in the Round of 16, and Andreeva or Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals, so Rybakina has a daunting draw just to get to a potential semifinal against Swiatek.
Coco Gauff (+650) - Unlike Rybakina, Gauff has a clay-friendly skill set as arguably the best mover and defender on the WTA Tour. Gauff complements her speed and athleticism with enough power and finesse to go on offense effectively when needed as well, and the extra time afforded to set up her forehand makes a big difference for the 22-year-old American. Gauff won her second career Grand Slam title here last year and has had a decent clay-court season in 2026, going 8-3 on the surface with five top-30 wins and all three losses coming against top-15 foes. Seeded fourth for her title defense, Gauff could face her biggest test prior to the quarterfinals in the third round against Anastasia Potapova, who is in better clay-court form than potential fourth-round opponents Ekaterina Alexandrova and Anna Kalinskaya. The degree of difficulty would slope up from there, with Amanda Anisimova or Linda Noskova as possible quarterfinal foes before a semifinal against Sabalenka and final against Swiatek, Rybakina, Andreeva or Svitolina.
Mirra Andreeva (+900) - Clay is likely to end up being the best surface for the 19-year-old Andreeva, who has plenty of athleticism, craftiness and power while benefiting from a little extra time on her at-times vulnerable forehand wing. The talented teenager has had an excellent clay-court season, posting a 15-3 record with a 500-level title at the Linz Open and losses to Rybakina, Kostyuk and Gauff. Andreeva's best Grand Slam showing so far was a semifinal at the 2024 French Open, but it's likely just a matter of time until she gets past that point. She has the game to do so here but will certainly have to earn it, as the eighth-seeded Russian projects to face Muchova, Rybakina, Swiatek and Sabalenka from the Round of 16 onward.
Elina Svitolina (+1600) and Marta Kostyuk (+2500) both look like strong value picks after winning clay-court WTA 1000 events in the lead-up to the French Open. Svitolina has played at a top-five level throughout 2026, and she just beat Rybakina, Swiatek and Gauff back-to-back-to-back to claim the Italian Open title last week. The 31-year-old Ukrainian is 28-7 in 2026 and reached the semifinals at the Australian Open. Svitolina's just 4-10 in Grand Slam quarterfinals and 0-4 in major semifinals in her career, but she certainly seems poised for another deep run here as the No. 7 seed and wouldn't lack confidence if she faces Swiatek in the quarterfinals after recently beating Iga in Rome. Kostyuk sat out the Italian Open with a hip injury after breaking through for her first WTA 1000 title the preceding week in Madrid, where she beat Andreeva in the final. The 23-year-old Ukrainian takes an 11-match winning streak into this tournament, all on clay, but she was dealt a tough draw as the No. 15 seed, as Kostyuk's lined up to face Swiatek in the Round of 16.
Victoria Mboko (+4000), Amanda Anisimova (+4000), Qinwen Zheng (+4000) and Karolina Muchova (+4000) are all viewed as fringe title contenders. Mboko has climbed into the top 10 at age 19, and the ninth-seeded Canadian's defense will certainly be tough to penetrate on clay, but she faces a daunting draw with potential matchups against Keys, Pegula and Sabalenka from the third round through quarterfinals. Anisimova has been battling a wrist injury recently, but the No. 6 seed is a strong all-court player. She reached the final of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2025, but Anisimova's breakout Grand Slam result came at the French Open back in 2019, when she made the semifinals as a 17-year-old. The 24-year-old American would likely have to get through her compatriot Gauff to equal that SF result this year. Zheng is still rebuilding her ranking after returning from an elbow injury and has gone just 7-5 in 2026, but the world No. 53 landed in a decent spot as an unseeded floater in Noskova and Anisimova's section of the draw. The 23-year-old Zheng was ranked No. 4 less than a year ago and won Olympic gold on the clay courts of Roland Garros. Muchova won a hard-court WTA 1000 title in Doha this year and reached the French Open final in 2023. The oft-injured Czech has looked healthy and effective while climbing back into the top 10 but could face Andreeva, Rybakina, Swiatek and Sabalenka from the Round of 16 onward.
Sleepers for the 2026 French Open
Anastasia Potapova (+8000) - Potapova has had an outstanding clay-court swing, reaching the Linz Open final, Madrid Open semifinals and Italian Open Round of 16 while notching wins over Rybakina and Muchova to climb back into the top 30. She would be the clear underdog in the third round against Gauff, but that section of the draw otherwise looks the easiest on paper, so a semifinal run would certainly be in play if Potapova can upset the defending champion.
Lois Boisson (+15000) - Boisson came out of nowhere to reach the semifinals here last year. The 23-year-old Frenchwoman hasn't built much on that breakout result while battling various injuries, but her crafty game fits clay well and she has proven capable of harnessing the crowd's energy effectively. Perhaps lightning can strike twice for Boisson, who certainly has a path to making the second week again in Kalinskaya and Alexandrova's section.
Sorana Cirstea (+20000) - Cirstea is an incredible value at +20000 odds, as the 36-year-old Romanian has been playing inspired and effective tennis in what she has announced will be her last year on the WTA Tour. She has climbed up to 18th in the rankings with a 27-8 record in 2026, most recently beating Sabalenka en route to the semifinals in Rome. Three of those losses have come against Gauff, so Cirstea will be happy to have landed on the other half of the bracket. She should be favored to reach the Round of 16 over the struggling Paolini, at which point Cirstea could face Rybakina.
French Open Prediction
Iga Swiatek came up two matches short in her French Open four-peat bid last year, but she's still the player to beat at Roland Garros. I expect the queen of clay to reclaim her throne in 2026, defeating Coco Gauff in a rematch of the 2022 French Open final. Should Swiatek stumble, Elina Svitolina could be the player that takes advantage and emerges from the stacked bottom half of the draw.
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