Roland-Garros qualifying begins this Sunday, May 18, but the main draw has already lost eight notable names before a single ball is struck on the Parisian clay.
The most significant absence is Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion forced to withdraw due to a right wrist injury. The Spaniard, dealing with a combination of tendon inflammation and cartilage damage first detected at the Barcelona Open, will not return before June. "We will come out of it stronger," he posted on social media, hinting at a grass-court comeback.
Lorenzo Musetti, last year's semifinalist, is the latest casualty. The Italian sustained a rectus femoris injury during his round-of-16 match against Casper Ruud in Rome. "I played on one leg," he revealed before confirming several weeks of rest. Musetti's 2026 season has been plagued by physical setbacks, from a psoas issue at the Australian Open to arm problems in Miami. He stands to lose 1,100 ranking points and could drop outside the Top 15 by mid-June.
Jack Draper has not played since retiring in Barcelona with a knee injury, targeting a grass-court return. Holger Rune, hoping to come back from an Achilles injury, has pushed back his return date indefinitely.
On the women's side, Marketa Vondrousova has been provisionally suspended by the International Tennis Integrity Agency after a missed anti-doping test. Varvara Gracheva suffered a devastating ACL tear in practice, ruling her out for months. Arthur Cazaux (elbow) and Sonay Kartal round out the withdrawal list.
Not since the 2020 post-Covid edition has the Paris Grand Slam seen so many high-profile absences before the tournament even begins. The main draw, set to be revealed on Thursday, May 21, will look vastly different from what anyone anticipated.
