256 players at the start, former glories at the appointment, growing prize money… Four things to know about the qualifiers

They will be the first to set foot on the ocher ground of Roland-Garros. Like every edition, the qualifying week, which begins on Monday 22 May, kicks off the Porte d’Auteuil tournament. Almost 128 male and female players will aim to win one of the 16 tickets, in each table, which allow access to the final table. All qualifications are available on france.tv.

256 players on the field

Qualifiers are a must for players ranked between approximately 100th and 230th in the ATP and WTA rankings and for contenders for the final draw. Like every year, 128 players and 128 players try their luck. Among these, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) has distributed nine invitations to the tricolors for each of the two tables.

The FFT has in particular granted a wild card to the French Fiona Ferro, current 392nd in the world and former 39th in the world, eighth finalist at Roland-Garros in 2020 and who has returned to the secondary circuit for more than two years.

Among men, Gabriel Debru, 533rd in the world, also obtained an invitation to the qualifiers. The Frenchman, winner of the Roland-Garros title as a junior in 2022, is one of the hopes of the new Italian generation.

Qualifications, instructions

Unlike the Roland-Garros final draw, matches are played only on the side courts and in two winning sets, for both women and men. It takes three spins to win one of 16 qualifying tickets for the Paris fortnight.

Players in the qualifiers are subject to the same operations as in the final tournament with a seeding principle. This requires that the top 32 players, i.e. the top finishers, cannot compete in the first two rounds.

If 32 players emerge victorious from the qualifiers, there is one last hope left for the last eliminated to integrate the main draw. At the end of the qualifiers, in fact, the status of “lucky loser” is assigned to the best eight eliminated in the third round. These can thus be drawn up until the first round of the final draw in the event of a forfeit.

Prize money on the rise

Already increasing last year, the allocations for qualifications have been increased further this year and are identical for men and women.

“In the continuity of the 2022 edition, the organization of the tournament continues the effort concentrated on the three qualifying rounds, the allocation of which increases by an average of 11.8%”, specifies the official site of the tournament. A loser in the first round will thus pocket €16,000, €22,000 for a loss in the second round and finally €34,000 for the third and final round.

If one of the qualifiers makes it through a round of the main draw, he then he will collect 69,000 euros more. “The prize pool of singles (main draw) recorded an increase of 9.1% compared to 2022, with in particular a significant increase in the amount of the first three rounds (between 11% and 13% increase)”, say the organizers.

For comparison, the two winners of the singles will win €2,300,000 in prize money.

Old glories at the rendezvous

Qualifying is always an opportunity to see (or see) former stars. Among the men, the Italian Fabio Fognini, former top 10 and quarter-finalist in 2011, will try to win the ticket for the Parisian fortnight.

Among the women, the public will be able to find in particular the American Sofia Kenin, current 134th in the world, but former world number 4, winner of the Australian Open in 2020 and finalist at Roland-Garros the same year. German Laura Siegemund (113th in the world), former 27th in the world, and quarterfinalist in the 2020 Porte d’Auteuil will also be there on Monday.

As for the French, there are sixteen participants, including Pierre-Hugues Herbert (397), doubles winner of Roland-Garros in doubles (2021, 2018) and Lucas Pouille (678th world), quarterfinalist at Wimbledon and US Open (2016 ) and semifinalist at the Australian Open (2019).

Among the women, 14 will represent the colors of France, including Elsa Jacquemot (174th), Chloé Paquet (201st) and Harmony Tan (210th) among others.