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There are wide-open draws—and then there’s the 2017 French Open women’s draw. The tour’s biggest hitters—Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka—are absent, and the strongest contenders who are in Paris—Angelique Kerber, Simona Halep, Garbiñe Muguruza—may be nursing injuries. Anyone who claims to have any idea who is going to win is lying, but let’s try to do it anyway. One positive aspect of a draw like this: When anyone can win, every match feels a little more significant than it normally would. (Click here for the draw.)

First Quarter

As with Andy Murray on the men’s side, the signs aren’t good for the women’s top seed, Angelique Kerber. In her last two matches, she was dominated by 60th-ranked Eugenie Bouchard and 68th-ranked Anett Kontaveit. While Murray can look to his run to the final at Roland Garros last year for confidence, Kerber can only look back on a dismal first-round defeat 12 months ago

Recent history does say that Kerber, who injured her hamstring in Madrid, will snap out of it at some point. If she finds her confidence, she could win the whole thing; if she doesn’t, she could lose to anyone. Kerber starts against a former Grand Slam semifinalist in Ekaterina Makarova. The first seed she could face is Roberta Vinci. And the second-highest seed in this section is Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Also in this quarter: 2011 finalist Sam Stosur, 2016 semifinalist Kiki Bertens, Caroline Wozniacki

First-round matches to watch:

-Kerber vs. Makarova

-Vinci vs. Monica Puig

-Kuznetsova vs. Christina McHale

Welcome back: Petra Kvitova

Semifinalist: Kuznetsova

Second Quarter

Like Kerber in the section above her, and Halep in the section below her, Muguruza could go all the way, or go out on day one; it just depends whether she can find a way to flip the confidence switch. And like those two women, last year’s champion comes to Paris having suffered a recent injury; she had to retire with a neck problem in the semis in Rome. But she says she’s happy to be back at Roland Garros, and there’s no reason not to believe her. Not only is she the defending champ, but she’s 16-3 there with two straight-set wins over Serena Williams in the last three years. Will the good memories be enough? Muguruza begins against 2011 champion Francesca Schiavone, who even at 36 probably won’t be an easy out in Paris.

While Dominika Cibulkova is the second-highest seed, the second-most intriguing player in this quarter is Kristina Mladenovic. The 13th seed is one of the most improved players on tour this year, but can she show that improvement in front of her own fans? In eight tries, she’s yet to advance past the third round at Roland Garros. Kiki will start her quest this year against young American Jennifer Brady. Her first big challenge could come from Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in the third round.

Also in this quarter: 2002 finalist Venus Williams, 2015 semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky, 2009 semifinalist Cibulkova

First-round matches to watch:

-Muguruza vs. Schiavone

-Mladenovic vs. Brady

Sleepers: Anett Kontaveit, who knocked off Kerber in Rome; Shelby Rogers, who reached the quarters in Paris last year.

Semifinalist: Mladenovic

Third Quarter

At first glance, Halep may not like who she’s facing in the first round: Jana Cepelova, who beat her in the same round two years ago at Wimbledon. But Halep could also look at it as a blessing in disguise. If she can get some measure of revenge, that should give her a confidence boost the rest of the way. While Halep has an ankle issue, there’s no reason she shouldn’t feel good about her chances in Paris; she’s played the best tennis of anyone this spring, and made the final here in 2014.

The woman who outplayed her in the Rome final last week, Elina Svitolina, is also in this section. Like Halep and seemingly everyone else, Svitolina is carrying an injury, to her upper left thigh. But the 22-year-old has shot all the way up to No. 6 in the world this season, and she would seem to be primed for her first trip to a Grand Slam semifinal—she reached the quarters in Paris two years ago.

Also in this quarter: Madison Keys, Daria Kasatkina, Carla Suarez Navarro, Elena Vesnina, Eugenie Bouchard, Anastasija Sevastova

First-round match to watch:

-Halep vs. Cepelova

Semifinalist: Halep

Fourth Quarter

In a draw full of mysteries and unpredictability, this section takes the cake. The top seed here, Karolina Pliskova, has looked ready to move on to the greener pastures of grass and hard courts for about a month now. Ditto for the second seed, Johanna Konta, who has won just two matches during the clay swing, and who has never won a match at Roland Garros. The faster she can get back to her hometown of Eastbourne, the better.

Still, somebody has to make it to the semifinals, right? The other seeds in this section are Agnieszka Radwanska, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Caroline Garcia, Barbora Strycova, Lauren Davis and CoCo Vandewedghe.

Pavlyuchenkova made the quarters in Paris in 2011, which in this section may be enough to make her the odds-on favorite to advance.

Semifinalist: Pavlyuchenkova

Three years removed from her first French Open final, Simona Halep was looking like the one to beat at the second Grand Slam of the season before the Romanian injured and aggravated ligaments at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

“I don't want to hide that,” she said of her obvious disappointment. “It happened just before Roland Garros, which is my favorite Grand Slam, but I cannot change it. I'm just trying to get better soon, to get stronger, because I need that, to be able to move.”


Halep moved at lightening pace through the clay court season, reaching the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix before defending her Mutua Madrid Open title, winning a Premier Mandatory title for a third straight year.

Leading Elina Svitolina at the Foro Italico, Halep played on after rolling her ankle, eventually falling in three sets and putting her Paris participation in doubt.

“A few days ago when I arrived here was like 50/50. Now it's more likely I’ll play, because it's getting better, and the last ultrasound said it's just two, three millimeters broken. At the beginning it was much more.

“I feel that I will play, but I still wait for tomorrow, another ultrasound, and then I will decide.”

The former World No.2 was tentative in her early practices on the grounds, but has looked better as the fortnight grew closer.

“Today was the first time when I was running on court, when I played some points. It's getting better. Tomorrow I have another ultrasound to see if the ligament is still broken or it's fixed.

“I feel much better, actually. Looks better. So I hope it’s going to be okay."


She even got a chance to hit with eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi.

“I was very excited for him to be here,” she said of the Hall of Famer, who she first trained with in Las Vegas alongside coach Darren Cahill. “I didn't expect him to stay whole practice.

“He gave me some advice, and he was happy to see me playing better, like last year I was much softer than now.”


Halep has certainly grown tougher in the face of adversity, shaking off physical and emotional lows to start 2017 to hit new heights on her favorite surface.

“I cannot change an injury. I had this with the knee, so I have experience. I’ve had problems with the ankles, like, six, seven times, so I know how it is. It is not so dangerous that you cannot play anymore, but still you have to be careful.

“I don't want to think about the negatives. I changed my mind after Miami, so I keep staying positive every day and to see what can I do here. It's going to be tough. But I'm ready.”

Halep will have a tough opener against Jana Cepelova, who upset the Romanian in the first round of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.