Andreescu to return from 9-month injury absence at French Open
Canadian tennis star Bianca Andreescu will make her anticipated return to action at the French Open.
Andreescu was in Thursday’s official draw for the clay-court Grand Slam event and will face Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo. The 23-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., hasn’t played since August after injuring her back at the women’s National Bank Open in Montreal.
The 2019 U.S. Open champion had her best career performance at Roland-Garros last year when she reached the third round.
Andreescu has won her only previous meeting with Sorribes Tormo in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Miami Open.
The other Canadians in the main draw are Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que., on the women’s side, and Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo, both from Montreal, along with Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., on the men’s side
The 22-year-old Diallo advanced to his first career Grand Slam main draw with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard on Thursday in the final round of men’s qualifying.
Nineteen-year-old Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont. can advance to her first Grand Slam main draw when she faces Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva on Friday in the final round of the women’s qualifying tournament.
WATCH | Andreescu ousted from 2023 French Open in 3rd round:
Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko took only 62 minutes to eliminate Bianca Andreescu in the third round of the French Open in straight sets (6-1,6-1).
The 23-year-old Auger-Aliassime, ranked 21st in the world, will open against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan.
Auger-Aliassime improved to 3-2 against Nishioka last month in the first round of the Madrid Open en route to reaching his first career Masters final. However, Nishioka won their only previous meeting at the French Open in the first round of the 2020 tournament.
Auger-Alaissime will be participating in his fifth straight French Open main draw, with his best result coming in 2022 when he lost to clay-court legend Rafael Nadal in the round of 16.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime beats Nishioka in Madrid in April:
Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime wins his first round match up against Japan’s Yoshihito (4-6,6-1,6-4) to move on at the Madrid Open.
Shapovalov, 25, will open his sixth French Open against Luca Van Assche. Shapovalov made it to the third round last year before losing to top seed Carlos Alcaraz.
Fernandez returns to Roland-Garros for the fifth time and will face Jessika Ponchet of France in the first round. Fernandez, the world No. 33 on the WTA Tour, reached the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros in 2022.
In doubles, Shapovalov will team with Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis on the men’s side, while Fernandez will join with Canadian-born Erin Routliffe of New Zealand in the women’s draw.
Rob Shaw of North Bay, Ont., will play in both singles and doubles wheelchair quad events. He made his French Open debut last year, where he reached his second quad wheelchair doubles Grand Slam final.
WATCH | Shapovalov ousted at Geneva Open on Thursday:
Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands began the day down 6-7(7), 3-3, but rallied to a 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-3 to eliminate Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the Round of 16 at the Geneva Open.
Swiatek, Osaka could face early dual in Paris
Iga Swiatek of Poland is the top seed at the French Open, which begins Sunday, and will open against a qualifier or a lucky loser as she attempts to win her fourth title in Paris.
It’s the potential second-round matchup that got attention when the draw was announced Thursday.
Swiatek and Naomi Osaka, another four-time Grand Slam winner, are on a collision course for the second round, provided Osaka gets past Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, ranked No. 48 in the world, in her opener.
Osaka and Swiatek have met twice, splitting the matches on the hard courts.
But the French Open is played on the clay courts of Roland Garros, and Swiatek has been dominant on the surface, winning the tune-up tournaments in Madrid and Rome. She is the back-to-back defending champion.
Swiatek, who turns 23 next week, is seeking to join Chris Evert (seven titles), Steffi Graf (six) and Justine Henin (four) as the only four-time titlists in Paris in the Open Era.
If Swiatek advances past Osaka and through the draw, she could face No. 3 seed Coco Gauff in the semifinals and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the final. Sabalenka lost in the finals to Swiatek in both Madrid and Rome.
Sabalenka will meet Erika Andreeva of Russia in the first round, while Gauff drew a qualifier or lucky loser in the opener.
No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan will open against Greet Minnen of Belgium.
Jessica Pegula, ranked No. 5 in the world, withdrew late Wednesday as she continues to recover from injury.
An intriguing first-round match awaits between former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, neither of whom has won a Grand Slam event.
