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French Open women’s form guide: the players to watch at Roland Garros


Simona Halep

There were emotional scenes when the Romanian ended her wait for a first major at the French Open last year. Having thrown away an imposing lead over Jelena Ostapenko in the 2017 final, Halep showed tremendous heart to fight back from a set and a break down against Sloane Stephens and become a grand slam champion. With that weight lifted off her shoulders, the 27-year-old should be even more dangerous. However, she needs to recover from a shock defeat by Marketa Vondrousova in Rome.

Related: French Open men’s form guide: the players to watch at Roland Garros | Jacob Steinberg

Naomi Osaka

The world No 1 proved her breakthrough win at last year’s US Open was no flash in the pan when she followed it up with victory over Petra Kvitova in a tense Australian Open final in January. However, the quirky 21-year-old Japanese player still needs to work on her game on clay. She has never made it past the third round of the French Open and there are concerns over her fitness after she withdrew from her Italian Open quarter-final against Kiki Bertens with a hand injury.

Kiki Bertens

The 27-year-old Dutchwoman heads to Paris as an outside bet but the world No 4’s list of victims at the Madrid Open means she should not be underestimated. Ostapenko, Kvitova and Stephens were all sent on their way before Halep was beaten in straight sets in the final. Bertens lost a little momentum when she fell to Johanna Konta in their Italian Open semi-final but the former French Open semi-finalist looks in good nick.

Serena Williams

The American will need to shake off the rust if she is going to win her fourth French Open title. Williams has played only nine singles matches in 2019 and her decision to pull out of her Italian Open meeting with Venus Williams was not an encouraging sign. She heads to Paris short of practice on clay – a solitary win over Rebecca Peterson is no way to limber up for the Roland Garros grind – and could be vulnerable in the early rounds. That said, Williams can never be written off.

Related: Ashleigh Barty handed tough route in French Open draw

Karolina Pliskova

The clay season began encouragingly for Kvitova, who was triumphant in Stuttgart, but the former Wimbledon champion faces a race to recover from the calf injury that forced her to retire against Maria Sakkari in Rome. However, another Czech was in excellent shape in the Italian capital. Pliskova, a former world No 1, saw off Sakkari in the semis before dominating her final against Konta. A semi-finalist at Roland Garros two years ago, the big-serving 27-year-old will be a threat this time.