7 players who failed to get into French Open including former champion and ex-No. 2 | Tennis | Sport

The French Open entry lists are out, and some big names have just missed out on a place in the men’s and women’s singles main draws. Reigning champions Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff will be back in action at Roland Garros, as will world No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka.

But the fight for a wildcard looks to be tighter than ever, with 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka and retiring French star Gael Monfils among those who were not ranked high enough to get into the men’s event, while former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has missed the ranking cut-off by just five places. Express Sport takes a look at seven standout players who have failed to make it into the main draw by ranking.

A former world No. 3 and three-time Grand Slam champion, Wawrinka famously defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2015 French Open final to lift his second Major trophy. Now aged 41, Wawrinka is playing his final season on tour before retiring. But he narrowly missed out on the main draw. The lowest-ranked player to get in was world No. 103 Rinky Hijikata, and Wawrinka currently sits at No. 107 in the world. But he seems a likely candidate for a wildcard.

Like Wawrinka, Monfils is also playing his final season on the tour, and is all but guaranteed a wildcard as one of the most notable and successful French players of the last two decades. The Frenchman has been ranked as high as No. 6 in the world, but currently sits at 200th, and got nowhere near the ranking cut for Roland Garros.

Another former top-10er who reached the quarters of Roland Garros, Dimitrov recently dropped outside of the top 100 for the first time since 2012, and currently sits at No. 135 in the world. The Bulgarian featured in 58 consecutive Grand Slam main draws until missing last year’s US Open with a pectoral injury that forced him to retire at Wimbledon. And he could now miss the French Open.

Badosa is a former world No. 2 and reached a maiden Grand Slam quarter-final in Paris five years ago. But her ranking has taken a massive hit in recent years, as a stress fracture in her back threatened to derail her career. Badosa still returned to the top-10 after carrying that injury, but a new hip issue wrecked her 2025 schedule, and she has now fallen to No. 106 in the world, failing to make the cut for the French. The lowest-ranked woman in the main draw is world No. 101 Daria Snigur. Badosa may need to go through qualifying, unless there are several withdrawals, or she gets a wildcard.

From a British point of view, Jones has very narrowly missed out on a place in the main draw, as she is currently ranked at No. 103 in the world – just two spots out. The British No. 4 has never featured in the main draw of the French Open and, last year, lost in the final round of qualifying. But she could make it in if two players withdraw, or if she comes through the preliminary rounds.

The Russian reached her only Grand Slam final at the French Open five years ago, but has now dropped to No. 118 in the world, and will likely need to go through qualifying if she wants to return to the main draw. Pavlyuchenkova has also made 10 Grand Slam quarter-final appearances, including two last year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. But she’s won just one match since Wimbledon and is on a seven-match losing streak. Her last win came at the US Open in August.

The 2019 US Open champion and former world No. 4 has battled numerous injuries since her breakout season seven years ago, and has struggled to return to the upper echelons of tennis. Andreescu was unable to come through qualifying at the French Open last year and will likely have to try again next month, as she sits at No. 128. Just as she found some momentum last year, reaching the second week in Rome, the Canadian picked up an ankle injury over the summer. But she’s been making waves on the ITF circuit this year, lifting two trophies.