Defending champion Iga Swiatek headlines this year’s entry list for Roland Garros. She will be joined by the rest of the current Top 10 players.
All but three of the Top 99 players as of April 15 received direct entry to the main draw of the second Grand Slam of the year. The only missing players are last year’s runner-up Karolina Muchova, who has not played since reaching the US Open semifinals last September due to a right wrist injury, along with Petra Kvitova and Belinda Bencic, who are both on maternity leave.
Swiatek is one of 13 Grand Slam champions with direct entry and one of three players on the entry list who has previously won Roland Garros, alongside Jelena Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova. As well as Swiatek, three reigning major titlists will compete in Paris: Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, US Open winner Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka, who successfully defended her Australian Open crown in January.
Eight players have used special rankings to enter the main draw as they continue their comebacks from injury or maternity leave. Two former No.1s are included in this number: Naomi Osaka (No.46) and Angelique Kerber (No.31), both of whom returned to action in January. Four-time major winner Osaka, who has reached the third round in Paris three times, is ranked No.192, while two-time Roland Garros quarterfinalist Kerber is at No.332.
The six other players using special rankings are Irina-Camelia Begu (No.49), Amanda Anisimova (No.61), Bianca Andreescu (No.64), Julia Grabher (No.73), Alison Van Uytvanck (No.97) and Aleksandra Krunic (No.99). Former US Open champion Andreescu has not played since Montreal last August because of a back injury.
Krunic is the last direct acceptance to the main draw. The next 10 alternates in case of any withdrawals are as follows:
1. Erika Andreeva
2. Renata Zarazu
3. Sara Errani
4. Arina Rodionova
5. Emma Raducanu (using a special ranking of No.103)
6. Katie Volynets
7. Brenda Fruhvirtova
8. Alizé Cornet
9. Hailey Baptiste
10. Anna Bondar
Click here to view the full entry list.
Source: https://www.wtatennis.com/news/3970268/swiatek-tops-roland-garros-entry-list-osaka-kerber-to-return