The Fascinating Tale of the 2026 French Open

With one of the most unexpected tournaments of the last decade coming to a close, we take a look back at this year's Roland Garros - host to first-time major finalists, brand new major champions, and some of the biggest shocks seen at a major tournament in years. 

Women’s Singles Final 

With echoes of Emma Radacanu in 2021, a qualifier reached the final of the women’s singles at this year's Roland Garros. Twenty-four year old Maja Chwalinska defied the odds, only dropping one set before her first ever major final appearance. With only three Grand Slam main draw appearances, reaching a major final was not on anyone’s bingo list for this tournament, especially with the form that Svitlona, Rybakina and Sabalenka were in.

However, this tale wouldn’t be as magical as Radacanu’s, but instead was a dream beginning for 19 year old Mirra Andreeva. The No.8 ranked player for the past few years has been shining on the major stage, scouted to be one of the next big names in women’s tennis, to which she finally delivered. Known for outbursts of frustration on court, this tournament shows her progression in the sport, and her mentality for future events. The Russian’s potential does seem to be endless, and will be a strong contender at Wimbledon this year. 

Men’s Singles Final

An Italian made the final of the French Open 2026, but not the one we all thought. Flavio Cobolli came into this tournament seeded tenth in the world, with not much expectation on him to reach the latter rounds of the tournament, but what a tournament he had. Overcoming Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-final, with a bye in the semi-final, the Italian put on a show of grit and determination in the final, but it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, the stars finally aligned, and a long awaited major title fell into the hands of Alexander Zverev. After heartbreak in his last 3 major final appearances, Zverev achieved the dream he had envisioned for all his career.

While many critics will argue that the lack of Sinner x Alcaraz competition made it easier for his finals run-in, make no mistake in the composure he had to show in the final two sets. After a gruesome 4th set tiebreak in favour of Cobolli, many believed the momentum was with the Italian, and the history of the German would repeat once more on the main stage. Yet, unlike his previous finals, Zverev controlled his emotions, got back up and won the final set 6-1 to take the title. And with this win, who says he can’t do it again on grass in a few weeks. 

The Biggest Shocks 

Jannik Sinner entered this tournament as one of the strongest favourites for a major championship since Rafael Nadal, also at the French Open in 2009. With his fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz sidelined through injury, it seemed there was no stopping him claiming a Career Grand Slam.

However, just as Nadal in 2009 against Robin Soderling, the overwhelming favourite saw himself lose a 6-2/ 6-3/ 5-1 lead to Juan Manduel Cerundolo, crashing out in only the second round of the tournament. Not only the biggest upset in recent history, but a wake up call to the other tennis competitors around the globe that Sinner and Alcaraz can be beaten at these major tournaments.

Only time will tell if this will affect his mental and physical game leading up to the Wimbledon Championship, but with Alcaraz missing out yet again, Sinner will be the outstanding favourite once more. Can he bounce back in July?  

Aryna Sabalenka was another name amongst the biggest shocks of this tournament. Not only was she yet again unable to claim her first Roland Garros title, but this quarter-final exit also sparked concerns about the future of her career, and the path she may lead. 

Experiencing her first 0-6 set since 2023, Sabalenka said that she wanted to ‘quit tennis’, leaving doubt for her mindset and potential participation in SW19 in July. As the clear ‘best in the world’ for women’s tennis, it would be heartbreaking for her to call an end to such an illustrious career, and at 28 years of age, many would argue that her best tennis is still to come.

Hope and belief that she will carry on in her attempts to reach glory are yet to be heard or seen. Amongst this, Diana Schnaider showed intense grit and determination to overcome the world No.1, and will be an outside shout in the run up to Wimbledon. 

While the world No.1’s of this year's Roland Garros Championship were the biggest upsets, it would be wrong to leave out what made this championship even more irregular to any other we had seen in decades.

In the men’s singles, 15 out of the 32 seeded players exited before the third round.

Names such as Alexander Bublik, Daniil Medvedev, Cameron Norrie, Taylor Fritz, Jiri Lehecka and Ben Shelton were amongst the main group. 

Amongst the women’s singles players, 14 out of the 32 seeded players exited at the same point in the tournament. This included Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini, Linda Noskova, Ekaterina Alexandrova and Elena Rybakina, while Four-time French Open Champion Iga Switatek only made it as far as the fourth round.

Will this create a trend of unpredictability among major tournaments, or can the best players in the world send us back to normality in the months to come?

In the end, Roland Garros 2026 will be eternalised in all that happened. Sinner and Sabalenka faltering, seeded players dropping like flies, qualifiers defying the odds, brand new major champions in both the men’s and women’s finals.

This major will never be forgotten, to which we hope there will be many more unpredictable moments in the tournaments to come.