May 20 (Reuters) – The following are some of the other contenders for the men’s singles title at the French Open, which begins on Sunday:
CASPER RUUD (NORWAY)
* World ranking: 17
Twice runner-up at the French Open, Ruud is a clay-court specialist and 12 of his 14 career titles have come on the surface, including his first Masters 1000 triumph in Madrid last year.
With Carlos Alcaraz out of the picture this year, the Norwegian is among the top contenders but if he is to win his first Grand Slam he will likely have to do something he has never managed before – beat Jannik Sinner.
Ruud has lost all five of his meetings with the Italian world number one in straight sets, the most recent of which came in the Italian Open final last week.
BEN SHELTON (UNITED STATES)
* World ranking: 6
Shelton has firmly established himself in the top 10 and appears the United States’ best hope of ending a Grand Slam drought in men’s tennis stretching back to Andy Roddick’s 2003 U.S. Open triumph.
The 23-year-old’s Munich Open win last month saw him become the first American to claim a claycourt event above the ATP 250 level since Andre Agassi’s 2002 Rome Masters triumph, but early exits in Madrid and Rome have dampened some of his momentum.
ARTHUR FILS (FRANCE)
* World ranking: 19
Fils represents the host nation’s best shot at a men’s champion since Yannick Noah in 1983.
The 21-year-old missed much of 2025 with a lower-back stress fracture but since returning to competition in February he has reached the Qatar final, the Miami Open semis and lifted the title at the Barcelona Open last month.
He then made a run to the semi-finals in Madrid before being forced to retire from his second-round match in Rome, though he has been passed fit for Roland Garros.
RAFAEL JODAR (SPAIN)
* World ranking: 29
Jodar is enjoying a breakthrough year and has rocketed from 165th in the world to 29th on the back of a string of good performances on clay.
The 19-year-old, dubbed “Rafa” like his idol, won his first ATP title in Morocco last month before reaching the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open and then making back-to-back quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV (RUSSIA)
* World ranking: 7
Clay will never be Medvedev’s favourite surface with the Russian having been knocked out in the first round of the French Open six times in his nine appearances at the Grand Slam.
But after showing some signs of progress on the surface with a run to the semi-finals in Rome, where he lost to Sinner in three sets, the former U.S. Open champion may deliver a surprise in the Paris dirt.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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