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Rafael Nadal comes into the tournament, which begins May 27 at Roland Garros, in strong form on his favored surface, while Serena Williams is set to make her return to the major championship stage in the women's tournament.
Nadal, who is the defending champion on the men's side, is in search of his 11th French Open title, while Williams will be chasing her 24th overall Grand Slam crown.
Nadal won't face a challenge from Roger Federer, who is skipping the clay court season, but he will be tested by some of the other top players in the world.
The women's tournament has seen four winners in the last four years, with Jelena Ostapenko winning it all a year ago. South Africa’s Kevin Anderson has been seeded sixth for the French Open which starts at Roland Garros on Sunday.
The 32-year-old, who is enjoying a career-high seventh in the ATP singles rankings released on Monday, is aiming to bounce back at this year’s second Grand Slam after being forced to retire last year.
Anderson, who has had greater success on the grass courts of Wimbledon and hard courts in Australia and New York, has only reached the fourth round in Paris on three occasions.
But it just wasn’t meant to be in 2017 when he was forced to call it a day in the second set against Croatia’s Marin Cilic due to a hamstring injury.
The 2017 US Open runner-up opened his clay court season as the top seed at the Estoril Open earlier this month but crashed out in the second round to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Florida-based South African, who turned 32 last Friday, quickly put that defeat behind him when he powered his way to the semifinals of the Madrid Open two weeks ago. He eventually fell to Austria’s Dominic Thiem in straight sets, but the outing did Anderson’s confidence the world of good ahead of the French Open.To not recognize that that should warrant an exception, be it for Williams or any new mother, is both outdated and mean-spirited. Not to mention short-sighted on the part of French Open officials, who risk seeing one of the world’s most popular athletes make an early exit from her first major since she had her daughter because she’ll face top competition right away.
But the larger, inexcusable point is the discriminatory way in which motherhood is viewed by both tournament organizers and the WTA. The idea that players should have to choose between having a family and having a career is as antiquated as wooden rackets.
WTA rules grant players returning from injuries and maternity leave a “special ranking,” which preserves entry into tournaments but not seeding. Players have previously not favored using special rankings for seedings, the WTA told the AP, though it didn’t say why.
Perhaps it’s because it was so rarely an issue. Tennis has been, particularly in the past few decades, a young woman’s sport, with players putting motherhood on hold until their careers are finished.
But that’s changing.
Kim Clijsters won three of her four majors after having her first child. Victoria Azarenka, who won two majors and was the year-end No. 1 in 2012, returned to the tour this month after a messy custody battle over her 1½-year-old son, Leo. Sania Mirza, a three-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, has already said she plans to return after having her baby, due in October.
You would think if any sports federation would understand why pregnancy should not be treated as either a handicap or a hindrance, it would be one with Women in its name.
“The rule is currently under further review as part of our 2019 rules process,” the WTA said in its statement to the AP.
Just because the WTA is stuck in the 1950s doesn’t mean the French Open has to be. (Take note, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. You're up next.) It could still have given Williams a seed, and there would have been little argument if it had done so.
Three of Williams’ 23 Grand Slam titles came at Roland Garros. She was ranked No. 1 when she went on maternity leave, having just won the Australian Open.
Even her fellow competitors are in favor of her being seeded.
“It’s such an incredible effort for a woman to come back from physically, emotionally,” Maria Sharapova said at last week’s Italian Open.
“So, yeah, I definitely think that would be a nice change.”
If even Sharapova, whose relationship with Williams is famously frosty, says that, it's a pretty good indication that French Open and WTA officials are doing it wrong.
Pregnancy and motherhood is already the toughest thing Serena Williams has faced. There's no need for the French Open to pile on. This year again, tournament officials will establish the list and ranking of the women's seeds based on the WTA ranking," the French Tennis Federation said in a statement to The Associated Press. "Consequently, (the seeds) will reflect this week's world ranking."
Williams, a three-time French Open champion, is expected to play in her first major since giving birth to her daughter in September.
While Williams can enter Roland Garros under the WTA's protected or "special" ranking rule, it's up to Grand Slam organisers to give her a seed.
While she was No 1 when she left the tour to give birth, Williams is currently ranked No 453.
Without a seeding, the 23-time Grand Slam champion risks facing highly ranked players in the early rounds.
