French Open 2026 women's preview: Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff among 12 names to watch in wide-open field

The women’s singles draw of the French Open features the WTA No. 1, the most recent Grand Slam winner, the reigning Roland-Garros champion and the active leader in Roland-Garros titles. Rare are the years when all four of those are different people.

Oh, and none of them won either of the clay WTA 1000 tournaments, the other biggest events of the season. In contrast to a men’s field dominated by Jannik Sinner, the women’s field could not be more open. Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek all have their strengths, with none standing out as the significant favorite.

Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament There are intriguing players beyond that quartet as well, so let’s get into it. The top 4 contenders 1. Iga Swiatek Seed: 3, title odds: +275 2025 French Open result: SF, lost to Aryna Sabalenka 2026 clay results: QF Stuttgart, R32 Madrid, SF Rome What she’s playing for : Being Iga Swiatek again Why she’ll win : Swiatek played as well as she has in months in Rome, looking like a player entirely different than the one who has failed to make any sort of progress in 2026.

It’s easy to attribute that to her change in coaching, going from Wim Fissette to Francisco Roig, the longtime assistant coach of her idol, Rafael Nadal ( plus some help from Nadal himself) . It looks like a good match. The best version of Swiatek has always been defensively elite, with enough spin to pin her opponent back and then build an advantage.