French Open set to begin without men's record holder Nadal

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - The 2023 French Open (Roland Garros), one of the four majors in tennis, is set to start with first-round matches in Paris on Sunday.

The biggest clay tournament of the year will be back without reigning French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who has won the title for a record 14 times.

On May 18, Nadal, 36, withdrew from this year's French Open after the Spanish athlete failed to recover from a hip injury. He will miss the French Open for the first time since 2005.

World no. 1 in men's singles Carlos Alcaraz, Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic and second seed Daniil Medvedev from Russia are among the favorites for this year's French Open title.

With his 2023 Australian Open victory, Djokovic equaled Nadal’s men’s record of 22 Grand Slam titles.

The Serbian national won the French Open twice, the last in 2021.

- Swiatek aims to defend her title

On the women's side, 21-year-old Polish player Iga Swiatek aims to defend her title as the world no. 1.

Swiatek was victorious in the 2020 and 2022 French Open. She also won the 2022 US Open.

World no. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who won her first-ever major title in the 2023 Australian Open, also aims to claim the number one spot.

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, world no. 4, and sixth seed Coco Gauff were among the big names in the women's category.

Rybakina was the 2022 Wimbledon champion while Gauff was the 2022 French Open finalist.

Emma Raducanu, the 2021 US Open champion, will miss the Grand Slam in Paris due to a hand injury.

Chris Evert still has the most titles in French Open in women's singles. The American former world no. 1 won record seven French Open titles before her retirement in 1989.

The prize money for the French Open will total €49.6 million ($53 million) in 2023, organizers of the claycourt Grand Slam announced on May 11.

Singles champions will take €2.3 million each. The runners-up will return home with €1.15 million.

The French Open's main-draw play will start Sunday and run through June 11.

The Stade Roland Garros, a complex of tennis courts in Paris, will host the tennis major.