2023 Roland Garros: Which unseeded players should we watch out for?
With this range of answers, the better question might be, who shouldn't we watch out for?
Our expert picks are in. Click around on TENNIS.com for our editors' and writers' thoughts on:
Peter Bodo
Dominic Thiem & Sloane Stephens: Two former Roland Garros finalists are hiding in plain sight. Thiem, once clearly the best clay-courter after Rafael Nadal, is still trying to find his game with mixed results following a long layoff due to injury. Stephens has a way of popping up to surprise us just when she appears to be written off.
Joel Drucker
Mayer Sherif & Nicolas Jarry: Sherif beat four top 40 players on her way to the Madrid quarterfinals. She could possibly play No. 24 seed Anastasia Potapova in the second round. On the men’s side, 6’6” Nicolas Jarry plays excellent contemporary clay-court tennis: big serve, aggressive groundstrokes off both sides.
Matt FItzgerald
Karolina Muchova & Aslan Karatsev: Fresh off posting a trio of wins at Rome, the Czech has an opportunity to take out Sakkari for the second year running in an early-round clash. As for Karatsev, the Madrid semifinalist could very well bust open another big tournament draw after powering through qualifying.
David Kane
J.J. Wolf & Karolina Muchova: The American hotshot pulled off an impressive upset in Rome, and has played both Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud tough in the last two weeks. As for the Czech, this former Australian Open semifinalist has been looking for an opportunity to reignite her injury-addled career, and may have found it here.
Jon Levey
Arthur Fils & Mirra Andreeva: He may not make a deep run this year—drawing Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round is a tough ask—but 18 year-old Frenchman, Arthur Fils, is the latest local hopeful. Keeping with the youth movement, 16 year-old Mirra Andreeva worked her way through the qualies into her first Grand Slam main draw. Both up-and-comers have a world of talent.
Stephanie Livaudais
Dusan Lajovic & Diana Shnaider: High on confidence after defeating Rublev and Djokovic en route to winning his first title in four years, Lajovic could do damage in the Rune-Ruud-Paul section. And since her memorable debut at the Australian Open, Shnaider has already earned a WTA Top 20 win (against Kudermetova, in Charleston) and racked up a 20-3 record this season at NC State.
Ed McGrogan
Alexander Bublik & Diana Shnaider: It took Rune and Ruud—the top seeds in Bublik’s quarter—third-set tiebreakers to beat him on clay. No one will relish facing the unpredictable Kazakh. Shnaider showed what she can do on a big stage in Melbourne, and the NC State star is still playing with house money.
Steve Tignor
Stan Wawrinka & Marketa Vondrousova: He has won the title here, and she has been a finalist. Neither may be at that level now, but they both know how to play in Paris, and their draws may give them a chance to build some momentum.