French Open - schedule, seedings and how to follow

1d ago | Source: BBC

Carlos Alcaraz came back from two sets to one down to win the French Open title in 2024

The second Grand Slam of the year begins on Sunday, with players heading to Paris for the French Open.

There will be no Rafael Nadal after the record 14-time champion retired in 2024.

However, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner are among the star names looking to add another major title to their collection.

There will be comprehensive coverage of the tournament across the BBC - here are all the key details.

When is the French Open 2025?

The clay-court Grand Slam starts on Sunday, 25 May at Roland Garros and finishes on Sunday, 8 June.

The women's singles final takes place on Saturday, 7 June, with the men's final concluding the tournament a day later.

Qualifying, where players must win three matches to reach the main draw, began on Monday, 19 May.

How to follow the French Open on the BBC

There will be daily live text commentaries of the key matches from the French Open on the BBC Sport website and app.

5 Live Sport has daily coverage and commentary live from Court Philippe-Chatrier across 5 Live Sport, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website.

Tennis correspondent Russell Fuller will be joined by Katie Smith, Abigail Johnson and David Law, with analysis from Annabel Croft, Greg Rusedski, Naomi Broady, Ryan Harrison, Daniela Hantuchova and others.

Commentary of the day sessions will take place from 13:00 BST and 19:30 for the night sessions.

Who won the French Open in 2024?

Carlos Alcaraz won his first French Open title last year, coming back from two sets to one down to see off Alexander Zverev in the men's singles.

Spain's Alcaraz is a four-time major champion, having gone on to defend his Wimbledon title just five weeks later.

Iga Swiatek is the three-time defending champion in the women's singles, beating Jasmine Paolini in last year's final.

Swiatek has won four of the past five Roland Garros women's singles titles.

What is the prize money?

The total prize money for the French Open is is 56.352m euros (£47.5m) - an increase on last year of 5.21%.

The men's and women's singles champions will win 2.55m euros, with the runner-up taking home a cheque for 1.275m euros.

Who are the in-form players?

World number one Jannik Sinner and second-ranked Alcaraz are the favourites on the men's side.

The two, who cannot meet until the final because of their seedings, recently contested the Italian Open final, with Alcaraz triumphing.

Novak Djokovic, a three-time champion in Paris, will continue his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, but the Serb has struggled for form this year.

Last year's runner-up Zverev and two-time finalist Casper Ruud should also be in contention.

In the women's draw, Swiatek has been the heavy favourite, but arrives this year on the back of a mixed clay-court swing.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka and world number two Coco Gauff have both had good clay seasons. Sabalenka beat Gauff to clinch the Madrid Open title, but Gauff went on to make the Italian Open final two weeks later.

Rome champion Paolini, runner-up last year, and teenager Mirra Andreeva will also expect to be in the mix.

Which Britons have qualified for the main draw?

Jack Draper is the highest British seed in either singles draw after the world number five put together an impressive clay-court swing.

Draper reached the final of the Madrid Open, losing in three close sets to Ruud, and was beaten by eventual champion Alcaraz in the Rome quarter-finals.

He is joined in the men's singles main draw by the fast-rising Jacob Fearnley and Cameron Norrie.

Katie Boulter is the highest-ranked British woman in the singles draw, having won a WTA 125 title in Paris in the build-up to the major.

She is joined by Emma Raducanu, who put together some impressive wins on the clay, and Sonay Kartal.