Experts’ selections: Who will win the French Open?

The French Open starts Sunday, with a number of intrigue. Iga Swiatek has received the previous 3 titles in a row, however did not make the finals in any of the 3 clay tournaments she entered this spring. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are taking a look as ready as ever.

On the boys’s facet, all indicators level to a Carlos Alcaraz–Jannik Sinner showdown, however who will be triumphant? Alcaraz is the protecting French Open champion, whilst Sinner received the Australian and US Open — the previous two Grand Slam titles.

We polled our mavens for his or her selections to win, and for his or her superb making a bet guidelines.

Who do you assume will win the ladies’s singles name, and why?

Pam Shriver: It’s a top-heavy girls’s draw this is anchored through Sabalenka, who remains to be my pick out to win her first Roland Garros. Sabalenka through a long way has been the most productive participant over the last 12 months, successful many seize fits. The participant who turns out to profit maximum from being at the weaker backside part is Gauff, who continues to battle together with her forehand and serve infrequently in essential fits. If the ones two prone photographs dangle up overdue within the event, Gauff may just stroll away together with her 2nd main. Despite Swiatek’s dominance at Roland Garros previously few years, I do not see her as one in all my two selections.

Bill Connelly: Sabalenka. She’s simply all the time there within the overdue rounds. She has reached six finals in her 8 occasions in 2025, and she or he has reached the finals in 5 of her previous 8 Slams as neatly. It feels ordinary going in opposition to Swiatek, however it is extra that I’m going for the sector No. 1.

D’Arcy Maine: Gauff. She has proved simply how just right she will also be on clay previously and had sturdy effects at Roland Garros prior to now, nevertheless it seems like she’s higher than ever at the floor with a 10-2 document within the month of May on my own. She reached the general in Madrid with straight-sets victories over Mirra Andreeva and Belinda Bencic, after which completely dismantled Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 within the semifinals. Gauff then went on to achieve the Italian Open ultimate, with wins over Andreeva, Emma Raducanu and Zheng Qinwen (in over 3 and a part hours!) alongside the way in which. She has come away trophy-less in Europe to this point this season however that are supposed to alternate in Paris.

Tom Hamilton: Apologies for being predictable, however I’ll opt for Swiatek. She has this Rafa Nadal-esque skill of throwing shape and good judgment apart, to thread in combination one thing exceptional at the Parisian clay. Jasmine Paolini has a good shot, as do Sabalenka, Andreeva and Gauff, however Swiatek will finally end up getting her 5th Roland Garros name.

Simon Cambers: I believe it’s going to be Paolini. The revel in of attaining the general ultimate yr and maximum lately successful Rome bodes neatly for her possibilities, and she or he has no reason why to concern any person, particularly with Swiatek prone this yr.

Who do you assume will win the boys’s singles name, and why?

Shriver: It turns out like shall we see our first main ultimate between Sinner and Alcaraz. Even with Sinner’s 3 months off serving the suspension, Rome proved the 2 avid gamers who’ve received the entire majors the previous 18 months are these days the most productive two avid gamers on this planet. Alcaraz is the favourite to shield his name to win his 5th main. Alcaraz has been making smarter tactical choices at the court docket as he matures. His health appears to be peaking too.

Connelly: Sinner. If we finally end up with a Sinner-Alcaraz ultimate, give me Alcaraz, however I believe Sinner’s much more likely to get to the general. He has the extra manageable draw, and Alcaraz remains to be at risk of earlier-round system defects every now and then — he fell to David Goffin in Miami, and he has misplaced 9 fits to avid gamers out of doors the highest 10 previously yr. (Sinner: 41-0 in opposition to avid gamers out of doors the highest 10 previously yr.) Sinner discovered a powerful rhythm in Rome regardless of his long absence/suspension, and he has received 3 of the previous 5 Slams. Make it 4 of six.

Maine: Alcaraz. Sure, Sinner wasn’t eligible to go back to pageant till the Italian Open, however there was nobody on Alcaraz’s general point or as constant this spring on clay. He received in Monte Carlo, reached the general in Barcelona, after which defeated Sinner 7-6 (5), 6-1 within the Rome ultimate. Seemingly at complete well being after sitting out of Madrid with a hamstring harm and with momentum very a lot on his facet, I totally be expecting the reigning champion to copy at Roland Garros and win his 5th main name.

Hamilton: Alcaraz will win his 2nd Roland Garros name. He’s in nice shape, hitting top health and is aware of what it takes to triumph at the Parisian clay. Sinner will push him shut, however Alcaraz is enjoying tennis at a unique point to any person else in this day and age.

Cambers: Alcaraz. He has the most productive shape, having received Monte Carlo and Rome, and for me, he received ultimate yr’s name with out ever slightly hitting the heights we all know he can. Fully are compatible after harm, he has the whole lot he must win a 5th slam name.

Betting guidelines

Who is your girls’s pick out to win?

Pamela Maldonado: Mirra Andreeva +600. I mentioned way back she would win Roland Garros, so I’m sticking to that. Andreeva has the clay-court instincts, selection and shot tolerance to frustrate even the most productive. Sabalenka brings the facility and Swiatek owns this floor, however Andreeva’s skill to take in tempo, redirect and prolong rallies makes her an actual risk to each. She lately beat them back-to-back in Indian Wells and regarded utterly unfazed. On this floor, together with her really feel and composure, she’s constructed to surprise the sector.

Andre Snellings: Iga Swiatek +325. Swiatek is having a down season and is seeded 5th within the event, her lowest seeding in Paris in years. But that is Roland Garros, and Swiatek reigns ultimate at Roland Garros. She has received 4 of the previous 5 French Open championships, together with 3 in a row. While her play this season has been scratchy through her requirements, Swiatek nonetheless made the semifinals on the Australian Open and in 3 of the six WTA 1000 point tournaments she has entered this season. Some of her fresh losses, together with on clay, can have shaken her self assurance somewhat, however as soon as she will get at the pink clay at Roland Garros I be expecting her to search out her point and win her 5th championship.

Who is your males’s pick out to win?

Maldonado: Carlos Alcaraz at +115 is the pick out to win as a result of nobody fits his mix of athleticism, creativity and staying power on clay. He simply received in Rome, shedding just one set all the event and beating Sinner in immediately units within the ultimate. Plus, Alcaraz is already a Slam champion in Paris and has the uncommon skill to conform mid-match with out dropping depth. His motion at the floor is elite, his shotmaking is courageous and his self-discipline in five-set battles is past his years. He’s now not simply the favourite; he is essentially the most whole participant within the box.

Snellings: Carlos Alcaraz +105. Alcaraz enters this French Open because the protecting champion and favourite. He and rival Sinner have received the previous 5 consecutive majors, and with Djokovic having a down season, the influence is that there’s a hole between Alcaraz and Sinner and the remainder of the sector. After successful ultimate yr’s French Open, Alcaraz additionally received the silver medal in males’s singles on the 2024 Summer Olympics that had been performed at Roland Garros. And Alcaraz is having a sizzling season on clay, with a 15-1 win-loss document that comes with championship wins at each ATP 1000 point occasions he has performed on clay at Monte-Carlo and the Italian Open. Alcaraz defeated Sinner to win the latter.

What is your superb wager for the ladies’s facet and why?

Maldonado: Not a guess you’ll be able to in finding, however one I’d take a large chew of: Iga Swiatek not to win Roland Garros. 35-2 general in six appearances and 4 French Open titles. If she does not win, it isn’t a knock on her skill, it is a mirrored image of her asymmetric season. She has had flashes of dominance however hasn’t sustained it. She misplaced to Ostapenko in Stuttgart, Gauff in Madrid and Collins in Rome, all in fits the place she regarded a step off rhythm or flat in key moments. Sure, she’s able to find her superb tennis in Paris, however the query is whether or not she in fact will. This yr, she hasn’t proven the similar air of secrecy of inevitability, and in a draw this deep, that is an issue.

Snellings: Mirra Andreeva to achieve the general +240. Andreeva is without doubt one of the most fun younger avid gamers at the excursion, coming into this season’s French Open at handiest 18 years outdated. Last yr, at 17, she complicated to the semifinals on the French Open for her superb end at a big whilst defeating Sabalenka alongside the way in which. She additionally teamed with Diana Shnaider to win the silver medal on the 2024 Olympics. Andreeva is a former global No. 1 junior, and this season received her first WTA 1000 championships at Dubai and Indian Wells. At this French Open, Andreeva is at the reverse part of the draw from each top-seeded Sabalenka and four-time French Open champion Swiatek, giving her a valid trail to the general if she performs to her point.

What is your superb wager for the boys’s facet and why?

Maldonado: Jannik Sinner to win Quarter 1. Having Jack Draper in his quarter is frightening on paper, however smash it down. Sinner is 1-9 in opposition to top-five fighters on clay. Draper is global No. 5. Context issues. Those losses got here in opposition to clay dominators: Nadal, Djokovic, Alcaraz, Zverev, Tsitsipas. They were not upsets however as a substitute they had been anticipated battles in opposition to the easiest on their superb floor. Draper, as gifted as he’s, is not in that tier but, particularly now not on clay and now not in best-of-five. Sinner is simply too blank, too constant, and in the most productive type of his profession (12-1 in 2025).

Snellings: Novak Djokovic to achieve the general +450. Djokovic has had a down season as he has recovered from the harm that pressured him to withdraw from the Australian Open. But he’s nonetheless Novak Djokovic, and that is nonetheless a Grand Slam event, which he has received greater than any participant in historical past. Djokovic made handiest the quarterfinals on the French ultimate yr, however he has received two of the previous 4 French Open championships. He additionally received the Olympic gold medal at Roland Garros ultimate summer season. If well being lets in, Djokovic remains to be very bad, and may well be price to make the general at +450.

What is your favourite lengthy shot wager to win the ladies’s name and why?

Maldonado: Jasmine Paolini +1400. She simply received the Italian Open, beating professional names similar to Gauff and Ostapenko, and she or he’s coming off a runner-up end eventually yr’s French. Her sport suits clay: It’s sensible, affected person, difficult and she or he’s enjoying with self assurance. Everyone’s looking at Swiatek and Sabalenka, however Paolini’s sitting proper there with the shape and the draw to crash the birthday celebration.

Snellings: Jasmine Paolini +1600. Paolini used to be a finalist on the French Open ultimate season, succumbing to four-time champion Swiatek. Still it used to be a monster run for Paolini, who additionally made the general at Wimbledon ultimate season and coupled with Sara Errani to win the gold medal in doubles within the 2024 Olympics. Paolini is the fourth seed on this yr’s French Open, a career-best seeding, and is available in having received a WTA 1000-level clay event within the Italian Open. While I would not desire her to win, at 16-to-1 she is getting numerous juice for a participant with this résumé and a valid shot to take her first main.

What is your favourite lengthy shot wager to win the boys’s name and why?

Maldonado: Alexander Zverev at +1400 is the lengthy shot price backing. His odds would possibly not shout lengthy shot, however his trail to victory for sure does. It is helping that he received Munich, however Zverev has the physicality, serve and backhand to thrive on clay over 5 units. His trail is brutal with probably Cerundolo (0-3 head-to-head), Djokovic, and Sinner in his means, however he is constructed for grind-it-out fits and is battle-tested on this setting. If he holds his nerve, he has the sport to damage thru and win his first Slam.

Snellings: Casper Ruud +2200. Ruud has quietly been some of the superb clay-court avid gamers of the previous few years, however he used to be overshadowed through the larger names of Nadal, Djokovic and now Alcaraz. But Ruud has two finals and a semifinals look previously 3 French Opens, and has the chops to win the development if issues smash neatly for him. Ruud enters the event enjoying neatly, having received the Madrid Open on clay previous within the season. At 22-1, Ruud is robust price as a participant who may just win at very lengthy odds.