Emma Raducanu steers clear of favourites in French Open draw

Emma Raducanu steered clear of the favourites in the draw for the French Open where she faces world number 64 Solana Sierra in the first round.

The British number one is unseeded after slipping to 37 in the rankings and arrives at Roland Garros with a single clay-court match under her belt after losing in the first round in Strasbourg to Diane Parry.

Raducanu will be hoping for a return to form on the big stage and her prospects are potentially boosted by a first-time meeting with the 21-year-old Argentinian, who fell at the first hurdle last year in her maiden appearance in the main draw.

The pair had been due to meet in the Italian Open earlier this year, only for the 2021 US Open champion to withdrawn from the tournament citing illness.

Sierra is certainly no pushover, though, having enjoyed strong results on the European clay this season, while she made a surprise run to the last 16 at Wimbledon last year.

A potential meeting with 13th seed, and former Roland Garros finalist, Jasmine Paolini awaits in the second round, should the Italian, who has struggled for form this season, see off Dayana Yastremska.

Raducanu’s compatriots also escaped the big-name opponents, with Francesca Jones facing Beatriz Haddad Maia, while Katie Boulter takes on teenager Akasha Urhobo.

In the men’s draw, leading Briton and 20th seed Cameron Norrie plays Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo and the unseeded Jacob Fearnley has the chance of a huge second-round clash against world number one and heavy favourite Jannik Sinner.

To set that up, the 24-year-old must first get past Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Meanwhile, Winchester’s Toby Samuel came through qualifying to reach his first Grand Slam main draw. The 23-year-old had the biggest ranking leap of any male player last year and has jumped 1,708 places to 159 since the start of 2025.

Samuel backed up a gruelling win over former top-10 star David Goffin in the second round by again coming from a set down to defeat Peru’s Gonzalo Bueno 5-7 6-1 6-3 on Thursday.

Samuel’s only previous experience in grand slam qualifying came at Wimbledon three years ago, and he said: “It’s incredible. My first French Open here in qualifying, getting through to the main draw is a dream come true.

“I knew going into today I was a bit tired. Goffin yesterday was a long match, pretty mentally draining, but, after I lost the first set today, I had to really dig deep to try and stay in it and find a way through so I’m happy with myself there.

“It’s a special place to play in a grand slam, playing in the main draw, you’re surrounded by all the top guys and that’s where I want to be. It’s just a huge validation for all the work I’ve put in.”

Sinner is heavy favourite in the absence of the injured Carlos Alcaraz as he bids to complete his personal Grand Slam of major championships, and he begins the journey against French wild card Clement Tabur with a 29-match winning streak to extend.

Novak Djokovic is on the other side of the draw – raising the prospect of a blockbuster final as he chases his 25th slam – and he starts against big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

Second seed Alexander Zverev is in the same half as Djokovic and kicks off by taking on France’s Benjamin Bonzi.

Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s top seed, takes on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro and defending champion Coco Gauff launches her defence against fellow American Taylor Townsend.

Iga Swiatek plays Australian wildcard Emerson Jones and second seed Elena Rybakina faces Veronika Erjavec.