The French Open is fast approaching and tennis fans from all over the world are already looking ahead to who might win at Roland Garros in 2024. As one of the four tennis Grand Slams, and the only major Championship to be played on clay, the French Open is always a highly-anticipated date in the tennis calendar. But who are the favourites to win the French Open in 2024? What are the expert predictions for Roland Garros 2024?
When is the French Open 2024?
The French Open starts on May 20 2024, with the tennis world flocking to Paris to take part in one of the biggest competitions in the sport. The tournament will run until June 9 when a winner of the men’s singles will be crowned, with the women’s final scheduled to be played on June 8 at Roland Garros.
What are the odds for the men’s French Open 2024?
Believe it or not, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are not the favourites heading into the men’s French Open in 2024. It’s the first time we can say that in many years. 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz is the bookies’ favourite for Roland Garros, with Djokovic, Sinner and Nadal following behind.
What are the odds for the women’s French Open 2024?
There is a very clear bookies favourite heading into the French Open on the women’s side of the draw, with Iga Swiatek dominating Roland Garros in recent years. The Polish superstar is still only 22 years old and could have another 10 to 15 years of playing time left in her. Who knows how many French Opens she will have under her belt by the time she retires? Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybanika are the closest contenders.
Who are the favourites for the 2024 French Open?
With the French Open just around the corner, let’s take a look at some of the favourites from the men’s and women’s competition.
Carlos Alcaraz
It’s wild to think that Carlos Alcaraz has only actually played in three French Opens in his short career yet comes into Roland Garros 2024 as the bookies’ favourite and world number two. In 2021, Alcaraz made it to the third round of the French Open, the furthest he had ever gone in a Grand Slam. The year after, he returned with two major clay tournament wins under his belt and made it to the quarter-finals, eventually falling to Alexander Zverev. Keen to keep improving year-on-year, Alcaraz reached the semi-finals in 2023 but couldn’t find his way past Novak Djokovic. In 2024, Carlos arrives at Roland Garros with two Grand Slam titles under his belt (Wimbledon 2023 and the 2022 US Open). The speed, power and versatility of his game suit the clay surface and he is widely being tipped to take the torch from his compatriot Rafael Nadal who has dominated the French Open for the past 15 years.
Iga Swiatek
Despite being just 22 years old, Iga Swiatek is already a three-time French Open champion. To put that into perspective, only four women have more French Open titles in the Open Era than the Polish tennis star. Serena Williams only managed three Roland Garros wins in her entire career, yet Swiatek has secured the hat-trick with more than a decade of her career still to come. Swiatek won the French Open in 2020, 2022, and 2023, meaning she has lifted the trophy three times in the past four years. Even in 2021, she won 22 sets in a row before eventually succumbing to Maria Sakkari in the quarters. So early on in her career, Swiatek has already earned a reputation as the queen of clay and that looks no different heading into Roland Garros 2024.
Novak Djokovic
At 36 years of age, Novak Djokovic remains the world number one and the French Open reigning champion, which is a crazy achievement in itself. Now put that alongside his 24 total Grand Slam victories, which is an all-time record, and his 1095 career wins (83.5% win percentage). It is no surprise to see the Serbian come into the 2024 Roland Garros as one of the favourites. The only sad truth for Novak now is that many of his competitors have more than ten years on him, which could come into play in the latter stages of the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka
Over recent years, the 25-year-old has earned somewhat of a reputation as an Australian Open specialist, with her game particularly suiting the hard court season. Sabalenka has won the Australian Open for the past two years (2024 and 2023) and comes into Roland Garros 2024 in red-hot form. She reached the French Open semi-finals in 2023 without dropping a single set and actually held match point to book her place in the final before losing to Karolina Muchova. Sabalenka will be looking to go one or two steps further this time around.
Jannik Sinner
Some people are sleeping on Jannik Sinner ahead of the 2024 French Open. If Carlos Alcaraz slips up, suddenly the 22-year-old Italian would find himself alongside the ageing Djokovic and Nadal as a favourite to win the entire tournament. Sinner may only have one Grand Slam to his name, but it came at the 2024 Australian Open, making him the most recent Grand Slam tennis champion – which is never a bad sign. The only downside for Sinner is that he has never made it beyond the quarter-finals of the French Open, bringing into question whether his clay court game is good enough to mix it with the big dogs.
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff made history with her 2023 US Open win in front of her home crowd and the 20-year-old will be looking to cement herself as one of the sport’s leading athletes in 2024. She recently made the semi-finals of the 2024 Australian Open and actually played in the final of the French Open last year, losing to Iga Swiatek in straight sets. Just like every other player in the women’s draw, it may come down to whether Coco has the quality on clay to take down Swiatek if she gets the chance.
Rafael Nadal
How can you discount a 14-time French Open champion? Mr Roland Garros himself. The main question mark over Rafael Nadal is whether he will be fit enough to even take part, let alone last a two-week tournament. The Spaniard is trying to get himself injury-free for the clay court season and Uncle Tony recently predicted a 15th French Open win for his nephew, but only time will tell if he is there come May 20.
Elena Rybakina
The current world number four, Elena Rybakina comes into the 2024 French Open as one of the favourites, and deservedly so. She won Wimbledon in 2022 and made the final of the Australian Open in 2023 but hasn’t quite hit her heights in the past 12 months. In the French Open, she has only ever made it to the quarter-finals, and it remains to be seen whether she has what it takes to beat one of her title rivals on clay.
Ons Jabeur
2024 has been a bit of a struggle for Ons Jabeur so far, having been knocked out in the early rounds of a lot of her tournaments. At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the second round by a 16-year-old called Mirra Andreeva. She has never quite managed to reach the semi-finals of the French Open, despite getting to the quarters last year. However, Ons remains one of the most popular players on tour and the 29-year-old has three Grand Slams to her name (Wimbledon 2022 + 2023 and US Open 2022). It could be argued that her game is better suited to grass than clay.
French Open court conditions – Why is clay harder to play on?
There are four Grand Slams in the tennis calendar, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. While the latter two are played on grass and the Australian is played on a hard court, Roland Garros is the only major tournament to feature a clay court. It is known to be the most physically demanding of all the grand slams because the ball bounces higher and slower than on other surfaces. Basically, it is far harder to hit a winner on clay than it is on a harder, faster surface. That makes for some incredible rallies, which are equally amazing on the eye as they are tough on the legs.
French Open Predictions 2024
So, we have heard about the players, but what about our French Open expert predictions and betting tips? Well, you have come to the right place!
In the women’s side of the draw, you can really look no further than Iga Swiatek. If she stays fit, no one is a match for her on clay. We expect her to add a fourth French Open title to her trophy cabinet come June. The best way to get betting value out of the women’s side of the draw is to bet on other markets rather than the outright winner. For example, bets on other players to make the final. Seeds 1 and 2 are always on opposite sides of the draw, so you should bet on even-numbered seeds to make the final alongside Swiatek. For example, Rybakina could be a good bet if she comes into the French Open as 4th seed. Alternatively, you could bet on Iga Swiatek to win the tournament without dropping a single set, which is entirely possible.
On the men’s side of the draw, it is far more open in the race for the Roland Garros trophy. Many will flock towards Rafa Nadal to add to his 14 French Open titles, but it is worth keeping an eye on his injury news. Remember, you are not only betting that he will be able to win the tournament, but also that he will be fit enough to play top-level tennis for two weeks. This is probably only worth a punt if the odds are good. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are the two favourites heading into the tournament and could well meet in the final, so a bet on either one is a smart bet. Alcaraz seems to be poised to take the crown off the older generation so we would lean towards him.