Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu will spearhead Britain’s hopes of a first female winner at Roland Garros since 1976, and both kickstart their campaigns later today.
Handed winnable first-round draws too, the hope is that they can get things off to a flying start for their country before the difficulty ramps up for their male counterparts.
However, before getting down to business, it seems they have been enjoying some much-needed downtime in the French capital in preparation.
All that preparation naturally came to a standstill yesterday afternoon though, when Rafael Nadal took to Philippe Chatrier for his tribute ceremony.
British players react to Roland Garros’ Rafael Nadal ceremony
Boulter and Emma Raducanu were both keen to react to what was an emotional hour, which including speeches, trophies, a reunion of the Big Four and the immortalisation of the Spaniard on Roland Garros’ centre court.
Naturally, it was Andy Murray’s emergence that drew the interest of Raducanu, who took to Instagram to simply write ‘Incredible’ alongside a video of those three legendary figures striding out onto the court.
Boulter would follow that up with a tweet of her own, using Nadal’s iconic ‘it only takes everything’ quote to sum up her emotions.
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek were both lucky to be in attendance inside the stadium, as one of many gifted a clay-orange t-shirt to commemorate Nadal.
Which British players are playing at the French Open today?
There are four British players taking to the Parisian clay today, kickstarting their French Open campaigns full of hope.
For some, there is a very tangible possibility that a strong run awaits them. For others, their opening match marks the toughest it could possibly have been.
Jacob Fearnley and Cam Norrie certainly fall into the latter category, having both been drawn against former Grand Slam champions.
The Scotsman will have to get past an ageing but impressive Stan Wawrinka just to reach the second round, whilst Norrie must defeat Daniil Medvedev. Norrie doesn’t play until tomorrow though.
As for the women, Raducanu should be the first to start today, as she seeks to set up a second-round clash with Iga Swiatek, should she beat Wang Xinyu.
Jodie Burrage arguably has it the hardest out of her female compatriots, with Danielle Collins posing an awkward first-round challenge. Boulter, meanwhile, faces Carole Monnet, fresh from her first-ever clay-court title earlier this month where she beat three French players during that run.
Jack Draper’s Roland Garros draw has provided a clear route to the quarter-finals for him, but his campaign does not get underway until tomorrow alongside Norrie and Sonay Kartal.
