French Open - Roland Garros 2025 | Day 1 recap: American players' results and highlights

Day 1 at Roland Garros 2025 saw several American players take the courts, with mixed results across the board. From hard-fought wins to early exits, the Americans had a busy day in Paris, with solid victories like Amanda Anisimova's or Tommy Paul's, and a five-set thriller with Ben Shelton coming out as the main character. As the clay continues to challenge Team USA, some players rose to the occasion while others fell short.

Lets take a quick look at how each of the American men and women performed on this first day of exciting action in Paris. 10 players saw action on May 25, and only three of them had to say goodbye to the second slam of the season in their debut. Tommy Paul, Amanda Anisimova, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe among others finished with a victory to continue their dreams of going deep in the second slam of the year.

The best American clay-court player this season faced an unknown challenge, taking on Denmark's Elmer Moller, a 21-year-old player ranked No. 108. Things didn't start well for Paul, who saw how Moller took the first set in incredible fashion in the tiebreak. But this ignited the spark and Paul came back firing.

In the end, Tommy Paul defeated Moller winning three straight sets, regaining his confidence and shaking up the tension that comes with the first round. His next opponent will be Marton Fucsovics.

World's No. 95 Reilly Opelka made his debut against Australia's Rinky Hijikata. Despite a strong first impression caused by Hijikata taking the first set 6-1, Opelka fought back and took home a very good win that was secured after a fourth set tiebreak. He'll face Argentina's Mariano Navone in the second round of the tournament.

Frances Tiafoe rounded up a great debut in Roland Garros against a Roman Saffiulin. The Russian appeared as a challenging rival on clay in the preview, but Tiafoe left no doubts securing his spot in the next round in only two hours and twenty-three minutes of action. His next rival will be Spaniard Pablo Carreño.

23-year-old Emilio Nava also clinched a remarkable win against Botic Van De Zanschulp, a very tough Dutch player who defeated Alcaraz twice, in the last US Open and this year in Miami. The American finished his opponents in great fashion winning in straight sets. Nava will face the winner of the match between Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Holger Rune.

Ranked at world No. 165, Jenson Brooksby is coming back and emerges as a dangerous rival and a potential dark horse according to Andy Roddick. This Sunday he defeated Portugal's Jaime Faria (115) in a four set win after two hours of action. Up next, Brooksby will be facing the winner of the match between Sebastian Korda and Luciano Darderi.

America's No. 3, Ben Shelton, had a really tough matchup against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego to begin his journey in the French Open. Shelton was down 2 - 1 in the fourth and had to played his absolute best to overcome Sonego and secure his spot in the next round. Ugo Blanchet and Hugo Gaston will play for the chance to face Shelton in the next round.

World No. 16 Amanda Anisimova had the easiest debut of all the American players this Sunday, as her opponent, Serbian player Nina Stojanovic retired down 6-3. 1-4 in the second set. Still, Anisimova looked sharp on court and emerges as a player that nobody would like to play against. Switzerlands' Viktorija Golubic will be her next opponent in the second round.

One of the best duels of this first day of action was the one starred by USA's Iva Jovic and Mexico's Renata Zarazua. Jovic took home a victory in dramatic fashion after three hours of intense tennis to book her spot on the next round. Elena Rybakina and Julia Riera will be playing tomorrow to decide who gets to face Jovic in the next round.

But not everything was smiles for the Americans, as Brandon Nakashima, Alex Michelsen and Peyton Stearns fell short in their respective debuts.

Nakashima lost in four sets against Argentina's Mariano Navone after attempting a comeback in the second but getting crushed afterwards. Alex Michelsen also was defeated by an Argentinian: Juan Manuel Cerundolo, World's No. 18 Fran Cerundolo younger brother.

Peyton Stearns was perhaps the most unexpected loss in this first day of action, as the American was destroyed by Germany's Eva Lys 6-0, 6-3, saying goodbye to the French Open in little over than an hour of play.

While some Americans have already made their mark on Day 1, many others are still waiting to kick off their campaigns. Day 2 promises even more action as the rest of Team USA steps onto the clay.