The 2026 French Open kicked off on Monday, May 25, with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and second seed Alexander Zverev both advancing after hard-fought victories, while American seventh seed Taylor Fritz suffered a shocking first-round exit.
Djokovic Battles Past Mpetshi Perricard
Djokovic, a three-time Roland Garros champion, came from a set down to defeat French crowd favorite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4. This victory extended his streak of first-round wins in Paris to 22 consecutive years.
The win marked Djokovic's 102nd career victory at the French Open and his 403rd Grand Slam match win overall. "I played him for the first time and it's practically impossible to see where he'll serve," Djokovic said of his opponent. He will next face France's Valentin Royer in the second round.
Zverev Cruises Past Bonzi
Zverev, the 2024 runner-up, eased past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to set up a second-round meeting with Czech player Tomas Machac. "Very good start to the tournament. It's always good to start with a win in straight sets," Zverev commented.
Fritz Stunned by Basavareddy
The tournament's first major upset saw American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy defeat Fritz in four sets: 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-7 (9), 6-1. Ranked 148th in the world, Basavareddy troubled Fritz with well-disguised drop shots throughout the match. "He was hitting insane drop shots, like, off balls that were landing on the baseline. He killed me with that," Fritz admitted.
Women's Draw Highlights
China's Wang Xinyu, seeded 32nd, overcame Austrian teenager Lilli Tagger 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the second round, recording her 20th Grand Slam main-draw win. Fellow Chinese player Wang Xiyu also advanced with a dominant 6-3, 6-1 victory over Montenegro's Danka Kovinic, winning 64 total points to Kovinic's 41 in just 78 minutes.
Eighth-seeded Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva defeated France's Fiona Ferro 6-3, 6-3, while Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Austria's Sinja Kraus.
However, former champions stumbled early. 2021 French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova lost 6-7 (7), 7-6 (6), 6-2 to American Hailey Baptiste, and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu exited after a 6-0, 7-6 (4) defeat to Argentina's Solana Sierra.
