ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
The fifth and final day of qualifying action was brought to a close under blue skies and a hot Paris sun on Friday as another 16 players booked main draw spots.
Roland-Garros wrap - Fri May 22
Qualifying wrapped up, stars attend media day
Liu hits top form
While a trio of French men who all won third round matches drew the lion’s share of the attention, perhaps the most impressive performance came from 25-year-old American Claire Liu.
The former junior world No.1 blazed through her three qualifying matches dropping just six games in total, including a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Kiwi Lulu Sun on Friday.
Young Czech Linda Fruhvirtova beat Frenchwoman Harmony Tan in straight sets and afterwards tried to describe her emotions to RG writer Dan Imhoff.
“It was a mix of everything – exhaustion, happiness, joy,” said the 21-year-old on what is already her eighth visit to the Paris major.
I’ve always wanted to experience what I did today - Pierre-Hugues Herbert
It was former Roland-Garros doubles champion Pierre-Hugues Herbert who led that trio of home hopes into the main draw as the 35-year-old fought off the challenge of Swiss Leandro Riedi.
"I’ve always wanted to experience what I did today,” Herbert told Alex Sharp after coming off court.
The top seeds all spent time with the media on Friday and women’s defending champion Coco Gauff talked about the positive vibes from her past success in Paris.
Aryna Sabalenka on court on Friday
Meanwhile, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka - who could collide with Gauff in the semifinals in the top half of the women’s draw - described her determination to go one better this year and land the Roland-Garros trophy for the first time in her career.
Four-time champion Iga Swiatek says she feels like she’s in a much better place arriving in Paris this year compared to where she was 12 months ago.
Top seed in the men’s draw Jannik Sinner explained what it feels like to have a target on his back as he brings a 29-match winning streak into the second major of the year.
Novak Djokovic sounded philosophical about what the next two weeks hold after an injury-plagued 2026. “Thankfully, the response of the body and the preparation has been positive in the last 10 days, so here I am, and we'll see what happens,” the three-time champion said.
Sunday schedule
Late on Friday the super Serb learned that his tournament will start on Sunday when the Day 1 schedule was released.
Djokovic will headline the first night session of the tournament when he plays French hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at 8.15pm local time.
Midway through the day I escaped FFT content HQ to take a walk of the grounds and immediately realised why Roland-Garros Opening Week sells 20,000 tickets a day. I saw two Grand Slam champions, two major finalists and another two players who have made Grand Slam semifinals on court all within a 30-minute stroll.
On Saturday, the famous grounds are taken over by the annual charity fundraiser Yannick Noah Day, when the courts feature family-themed fun including exhibition matches, practice sessions, music and entertainment.
To find out exactly what’s happening read our guide to the day’s events.