On May 28, the main draw of the 2023 French Open gets underway, giving those who enter through the qualifiers a very short turnaround before facing the tournament’s top-ranking players.
This year, on the men’s side of the court, Roland-Garros will be without its record and reigning champion, opening the way for Carlos Alcaraz to enter as the narrow favourite at +140.
As for the women’s French Open, many are hoping for the heated competition between the WTA’s exciting young trio to continue, but the odds see Iga Świątek as the standout frontrunner on the clay at -137.
Here’s a preview of the women’s and men’s 2023 French Open, looking at the favourites and dark horse contenders for the coveted clay courts Grand Slam.
2023 Men’s French Open Contenders
Along with his plans to retire after the 2024 campaign, Rafael Nadal also revealed that injuries are forcing him out of the 2023 Roland-Garros, which will have the rest of the order buzzing for a rare shot at the Grand Slam tournament.
Since 2005, Nadal has won 14 of the 18 French Opens, with only Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, and Novak Djokovic taking the odd trophy over that spell. Each of them has also fallen to Nadal in the final.
Roland-Garros remains Nadal’s court, but in his absence, compatriot Carlos Alcaraz might just be able to cement his claim as Spain’s next tennis superstar.
Taking to the French clay in the same month as his 20th birthday, the Cadiz native has been running riot in 2023, winning 30 of his 33 matches to a set record of 61-11.
While he did bow out of the Rome Masters (another clay competition) in the Round of 32, that loss ended a 12-match winning streak on clay that saw Alcaraz capture Barcelona and the Madrid Masters.
High-ranking Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev are certainly among the biggest potential roadblocks for Alcaraz, but it’s Nadal’s perpetual foe, Novak Djokovic, who has the best shot at stopping another Spaniard.
Importantly, Djokovic tends to come into Grand Slams with a tournament win on the same surface just beforehand. For the Australian Open – which the Serbian won – he won the ATP Adelaide 1.
Coming into the 2023 French Open, he bowed out in the Round of 16 for the Monte Carlo Masters, couldn’t get past the Quarter-Finals at Banja Luka, and lost to Rune in the Quarter-Finals of the Rome Masters.
Muchas gracias Madrid por dos semanas inolvidables que han terminado con el 🏆! INOLVIDABLE! 😍 @MutuaMadridOpen pic.twitter.com/1rZWbi4P5K
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) May 7, 2023
Who Will Win the 2023 Men’s French Open?
As it stands, Carlos Alcaraz is the narrow favourite to take the 2023 Men’s French Open in the tennis betting, sporting odds of +140 to claim the crown currently donned by Rafael Nadal.
Of course, at +140, the oddsmakers aren’t entirely sold on the young Spaniard being able to win the second Grand Slam of the season, especially with Djokovic lurking at +210.
Still, Alcaraz has a lot going in his favour, while his main competitor is yet to properly set his feet in clay this year. The 20-year-old is flying with an imperious 2023 record, and Djokovic is said to be battling injury.
This might open up the top of the order if Djokovic struggles to find form on the Roland-Garros clay. Perhaps the +900 Rune, +1000 Medvedev, or +1200 Stefanos Tsitsipas can seize the moment and challenge the favourite.
Welcome to the @alcarazcarlos03 show 🤯#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/fVbODNenSl
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 25, 2022
2023 Women’s French Open Contenders
The first Grand Slam of the season went to Aryna Sabalenka, who got the better of Elena Rybakina to help the two throw their hats into the frontrunner conversation for the 2023 WTA campaign.
Completing the trio of exciting under-25s atop the rankings, however, is Iga Świątek, who continues to stake her claim as the best in women’s tennis right now.
At 21-years-old, the Polish righty is currently clear atop the WTA rankings by 1399 points after 17 tournaments, and importantly for 2023 Roland-Garros, Świątek took the clay-court crown of Stuttgart in April.
In the Quarter-Finals in Rome, Rybakina did get the better of Świątek – who was forced to retire with an injury – and would go on to win in Rome, but few would dispute the Pole as the best on clay right now.
Also in Świątek’s favour is her superb 2023 record. She’s won 28 of 34 matches so far, while Rybakina has secured 22 wins from 29 matches.
Notably, Sabalenka has gone one better than Świątek with 29 wins in 34 matches and beat her in the Madrid final. That gives a minor clay trophy to each of these three frontrunners for 2023 Roland-Garros.
Iga x Suzanne
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2022
A winning combination 🏆#RolandGarros | @iga_swiatek pic.twitter.com/lLEPAaLPUX
Who Will Win the 2023 Women’s French Open?
Iga Świątek is the clear-cut favourite in every regard to win the 2023 Women’s French Open, coming in with dominant odds of -137 in the outright betting market.
She’s won it twice before, is the reigning champion, and has made it to the final (Madrid) and won a clay competition (Stuttgart) as recently as April – only bowing out of Rome due to injury.
That’s not to say that both Rybakina and Sabalenka at +600 won’t be feeling confident, having taken down Świątek en route to claiming their own clay tournaments of late.
All three have proven their credentials on the surface this year, and while Świątek is way atop the WTA standings with a great record at Roland-Garros (21-2), her two primary competitors perhaps shouldn’t be at such long odds.
Iga in Paris 😍#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/pR3ZNrPLm0
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 23, 2023
Coming into the 2023 French Open, Alcaraz and Świątek weigh in as the favourites in the odds, but with them both being so young, there’s always a chance for an underdog to power through to the final and take the Grand Slam tournament.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
