The 2023 Roland Garros tennis tournament has some injury questions on the men’s side and the possibility of some heavyweight battles on the women’s side. While the Tours battle it out in Rome as the warmup for the jewel of the clay-court season, let’s give you the main storylines and the frontline contenders heading into Paris in late May.
French Open Men’s Tournament
The men’s French Open tournament has typically involved a competition between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. They have played in each of the last three French Opens, but even in years when they didn’t play, they were the top two contenders for the title. Also they were viewed as the two best players in 2019, but Djokovic lost to Dominic Thiem in the semifinals and was not able to meet Nadal in the final. They were expected to meet in 2011, but Djokovic lost in the semifinals. This has been going on for more than a decade: Nadal and Djokovic begin the conversation at Roland Garros.
This year, it’s different, especially in relationship to Nadal, who has not played any clay-court tennis this season. He had hoped to return for the Madrid tournament in late April, but his injury recovery has gone much more slowly than expected. Novak Djokovic has also been dealing with an injury – an elbow problem that limited his effectiveness in the Banja Luka tournament a few weeks ago – but is going to be able to play at Rome after missing Barcelona and Madrid.
Nadal would be in a lot of trouble at Roland Garros because of a total lack of match play. Djokovic will at least have Rome as a lead-in for Paris, but even then, that’s a lot of time off before a major tournament. Injury questions are relevant for both of the 22-time major champions. This leaves Carlos Alcaraz, who just defended his Madrid title and will be the healthiest top player in France.
Though Carlos Alcaraz has never won the tournament, he will be the unanimous French Open betting favorite, with Djokovic second and Nadal either third or fourth. If you’re looking for a name other than Djokovic, Nadal or Alcaraz, go with Denmark’s Holger Rune, who is quickly rising on the ATP Tour.
Odds To Win French Open at BetAnySports
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | +150 |
| Carlos Alcaraz Garfia | +175 |
| Rafael Nadal | +300 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | +650 |
| Casper Rudd | +1200 |
| Holger Rune | +1400 |
| Jannik Sinner | +1400 |
| Alexander Zverev | +1400 |
French Open Women’s Tournament
The French Open women’s tournament has a clear favorite, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, who has won this event two of the last three years, in 2020 and 2022. If you take a look at the odds at BetAnySports, she has a minus in front of her odds; everyone else is at 10/1 or longer.
That’s a sizable gap. It is true that Swiatek just lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid final, but it has to be remembered that Madrid has high-altitude conditions which are very different from the French Open. The ball bounces a lot higher. The court plays faster. This is not how the court will play in Paris at Court Philippe Chatrier. Swiatek should get a bounce which will enable her to hit the ball very cleanly and create points the way she wants to shape them. Sabalenka loved the higher-hitting zone in Madrid, but she won’t get that in France. Swiatek is therefore seen as the clear favorite, and rightly so.
If there are other players to watch beyond Swiatek and Sabalenka, consider Elena Rybakina – who lost to Sabalenka in the Australian Open final – and also the 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, the only non-Swiatek player to win the women’s title over the past three years. Where Rybakina and Krejcikova are positioned relative to Swiatek and Sabalenka – and how difficult a draw both players receive – will be something you will need to watch in the days immediately preceding the start of the tournament.
Odds To Win French Open at BetAnySports
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Iga Swiatek | -110 |
| Ons Jabeur | +1000 |
| Elena Rybakina | +1000 |
| Maria Sakkari | +1200 |
| Paula Badosa Gibert | +1200 |
| Carolina Garcia | +1200 |
| Cori Gauff | +1400 |
| Aryna Sabalenka | +1400 |
| Jessica Pegula | +1600 |
| Barbora Krejcikova | +1800 |
| Veronika Kudermetova | +2000 |
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