The two are friends and sometime doubles partners but their paths have only crossed once on a singles court. Taylor won that match but it was seven years ago when Coco was a 15-year-old and Taylor was an experienced 23-year-old. A lot has changed since then.

➡️ Tuesday's order of play
➡️ Roland-Garros 2026 women's singles draw

Gauff comes here as the defending champion with happy memories of how she overcame Aryna Sabalenka and the blustery conditions last year. The images are still bright in her mind and most of all, she remembers the crowd. They loved her.

“I didn't know what the crowd would look like in that final last year,” she said. “I think I was just surprised that the crowd was heavily for me. Also, Spike Lee was right next to my towel box, so that was pretty cool.”

The award-winning film maker loves his tennis and was backing Coco to the hilt. He always does. But no matter how many famous faces she spots in the crowd, Gauff knows that she can only afford to focus on the face in front of her.

Townsend is ranked No.75 in singles this week but she is the No.2 in doubles (and was No.1 last year). The 30-year-old knows her way around every quarter of the court, loves to attack and her forehand is a real weapon. She is an experienced and wily campaigner with four doubles titles to her name this year and since she gave birth to her son, Adyn Aubrey five years ago, her career has not looked back.

➡️ Paris: Coco Gauff's happy place

In tennis terms, Coco knows what to expect and ranked No.4 and with two Grand Slam titles on her mantelpiece already, she should be the favourite. But she is still Taylor’s pal. And that could complicate matters.

“Knowing Taylor, she’s one of the nicest people that I’ve ever met,” Coco said. “Whenever I’ve had a tough moment on court, she’s always texting me, messaging me, checking in on how I am. She’s a mom, she’s a great friend, a very talented tennis player and she’s a good person.”

Coco and Taylor – the best of rivals.

Court Philippe-Chatrier, first match

Aryna Sabalenka (1) v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro

World No.1 Sabalenka is, quite simply, the best in the business. No matter the surface, her power and aggression can overwhelm any opponent. Unfortunately, she can also beat herself. So many times in the past, she would implode on court. She would make a couple of errors, get annoyed with herself and before she could say double fault, her opponent had broken serve and Arnya had a mountain to climb.

Now, though, she is learning how to control those emotions. “It’s making sure that my opponent doesn't see what's going on in my head,” she explained, “and to perform better and to stay in the zone. It was a huge improvement over the years in my career and really helped me to level up.” That won’t do much for Jessica’s confidence.

Court 14, third match

Alexander Bublik (9) v Jan-Lennard Struff

Last year, when Alexander Bublik beat Jack Draper to reach the quarter-finals here – his first-ever quarter-final at a Slam – he thought it was the best day of his life. From being unable to win a match to save himself at the end of 2024 and the start of last season, he had turned his form around. By the end of the year, he was chasing down qualification for the ATP Tour Finals.

➡️ Roland-Garros 2026 men's singles draw

From being the hugely gifted but utterly unpredictable wild card figure in any draw, he was suddenly the man on a mission. This year, he started by winning the trophy in Hong Kong and, since then, has been solid without being spectacular. His chances this year are as good as any – with Bublik, you just never know.

Court 14, fourth match

Victoria Mboko (9) v Nikola Bartunkova

Mboko has not been having much luck of late. She missed the start of the clay court season having her wisdom teeth fixed and then, just when she thought she was getting into the groove, she picked up a virus in Rome and had to pull out. Now that she is here, she is trying to make up for lost time. With a new coach – Wim Fissette – and a slow but steady understanding of how to move on the tricky red dirt, she hopes that she can make progress here.

The 20-year-old Nikola may have something to say about that. She was the junior Wimbledon singles champion three years ago and the Roland-Garros junior doubles champion in 2022 – she certainly knows how to move on clay. But although she is a year older than Victoria, she cannot match the Canadian’s record: two titles won last year and three final reached this year.