A week before the start of the French Open – the second Grand Slam of the season, to be played at Roland Garros – the seedings for the men’s and women’s draws have been defined. Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka go to the top of their respective draws and enter as the main favourites for the title.

The weeks prior to Grand Slams always include the added element of players fighting for a seeded spot. In the men’s draw, Alejandro Tabilo, Corentin Moutet and Rafael Jodar were among the names who secured their seeded status in recent weeks – which will give them an advantage in the draw, and the chance to avoid top-30 rivals, at least until a potential third round.

However, being inside the top 32 of the main draw is not the only important factor. The top 8 seeds are guaranteed not to face each other until the quarter-finals – and the last player to secure that position was Daniil Medvedev, Rome semi-finalist, who climbed to No. 7. The Russian returns to being among the top 8 seeds in a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2025 Australian Open.

On the women’s side, Elina Svitolina achieved an important boost that places her inside the top-8 seeds in the main draw – notably affecting teenager Victoria Mboko – something that could end up reshaping the draw once the bracket is made.

The top seeds will be Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev – each leading one half of the draw and only able to meet in a potential final. The absence of Carlos Alcaraz gives an advantage there to the German, who as world No. 3 is guaranteed not to face Sinner until a potential final. The third and fourth seeds are Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime, who on paper could meet the top seeds in the semi-finals.

Completing the top 8 are other big names, although none are true clay-court specialists: Americans Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz join Daniil Medvedev and Australian Alex de Minaur. None of them can meet each other until a potential quarter-final.

Behind them – and potential Round of 16 opponents for the top 8 – are names such as Alexander Bublik, Andrey Rublev, Luciano Darderi and Casper Ruud, recent Rome finalist. The final spot in the top 16 goes to Valentin Vacherot.

Of particular interest is the range from 16 to 32 – potential third-round opponents for the top seeds. Any of them could face players like Sinner, Djokovic or Zverev from the third round onwards. Among them stand out Arthur Fils (17th seed), Learner Tien (18th), Cameron Norrie (20th), Jakub Mensik (26th), Rafael Jodar (27th) and Joao Fonseca (28th).

On the women’s side, things remained largely stable at the top, with Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina remaining the main title favourites, each commanding one half of the draw. They are joined by Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff – potential semi-final rivals if everything goes according to seeding.

Between the 5th and 9th seeds stand out Americans Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova, joined by recent Rome champion Elina Svitolina and teenage Russian Mirra Andreeva.

As a result, one of the main players affected by Svitolina’s Rome campaign is Canadian Victoria Mboko, who enters as 9th seed. This means she would have to face one of the top-8 seeds as early as the fourth round, potentially too early for the Canadian, who will still be seen as a player capable of a deep run and someone top contenders will want to avoid.

Below Mboko – and also within the 9th to 16th seed range – are names such as Karolina Muchova, Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and Naomi Osaka.

From 17th to 32nd seeds – potential top-16 opponents from the third round onwards – there are several players ready to cause upsets. Young Iva Jovic (17th), experienced Sorana Cirstea (21st), former Grand Slam champions Madison Keys (19th) and Jelena Ostapenko (29th), as well as the recent resurgence of Anastasia Potapova (28th), are among the seeded names with upset potential.