Current and Former Collegians Head to Paris for the 2023 French Open

As the second Grand Slam of the season, the French Open marks the crescendo of the professional clay court season as top players from around the country all look to turn heads on the world-famous red clay at Roland Garros.

With many former champions not included in the singles draw, including the 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, the field is poised for a newcomer to make a splash, with many current and former collegians looking to fill that void.

In 2023, 21 players with college ties make up the men’s and women’s singles draw with 16 men’s players in the men’s singles draw and five women’s players in the women’s singles draw.

Francisco Cerundolo (23) (South Carolina), Cameron Norrie (14) (TCU), and Ben Shelton (30) (Florida) all enter the French Open as seeded players with Norrie being the highest-ranked and seeded collegian in the draw.

Former Texas A&M Aggie, Patrick Kypson, makes his first Grand Slam appearance since turning a full-time pro in 2018. The former under-18 boys champion qualified for the French Open main draw through the USTA’s Rolland Garros Wildcard Challenge.

JJ Wolf (Ohio State) and Shelton will both look to build on strong Australian Open runs over the next few weeks in Paris. The duo met in the fourth round in Melbourne with Shelton coming out victorious and advancing to his first Grand Slam Quarterfinal of his young career.

On the women’s side, it is a wave of youth sweeping the main draw as current collegians and first-year pros, Diana Shnaider (NC State), Emma Navarro (Virginia), and Peyton Stearns (Texas) all received direct entry into the main draw. All three of these players have made their WTA Top 100 debut this year and will look to keep establishing themselves on tour at the French Open.

Danielle Collins (Florida, Virginia) will be up against fellow American, Jessica Pegula in the opening round. The two-time NCAA Singles Champion is the last collegian to make a Grand Slam finals appearance when she did so at the Australian Open in 2022.

These athletes make up just a small percentage of the total current and former collegians taking part in this year’s French Open. Be on the lookout in the coming days for the men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles draw where collegians will be making up many of the teams.

Play is set to begin Sunday, May 28th from Paris, France. Action will run through June 11th when all of the Grand Slam Champions will have been crowned.

Men’s Singles

• Full Men’s Singles Draw

Women’s Singles

• Full Women’s Singles Draw

Men’s Doubles

Coming soon

Women’s Doubles

Coming soon

Mixed Doubles

Coming Soon

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