Roland Garros 2023: Defending finalist Gauff, debutant Shelton among nine American seeds

More than 30 Americans, including nine seeded players from the U.S., were placed in the Roland Garros men's and women's singles draws on Thursday in Paris, setting the stage for the year's second Grand Slam to begin on Sunday.

Sixteen American women and 15 men are among the initial entrants, with more hoping to earn a place in the main draw through qualifying. The U.S. contingent is led by four seeds on the women's side—No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Coco Gauff, No. 20 Madison Keys and No. 32 Shelby Rogers—and five on the men's side—No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 12 Frances Tiafoe, No. 16 Tommy Paul, No. 24 Sebastian Korda and No. 30 Ben Shelton, who is making his tournament debut after a breakout run to the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Gauff, a finalist last year at Roland Garros, will open her 2023 campaign against Rebeka Masarova of Spain--in a rematch of January's final at the WTA 250 in Auckland, which was won by Gauff in straight sets. The 19-year-old was turned back by world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the 2022 final, and the pair could contest a rematch in the quarterfinals this year if both advance to that stage.

Keys is also in the top quarter of the draw and will face former a Top 15 player in Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the first round. They are joined in that section by tournament debutant Emma Navarro, who won the USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge to earn her place in the draw. Navarro will meet Anna Kalinskaya in the opening round.

In the draw's second quarter, headed by Elena Rybakina, Rogers opens against Petra Martic, a Croatian who reached the quarterfinals in Paris back in 2019.

The bottom half of the women's draw will serve up an all-American showdown between Pegula and Danielle Collins, with Katie Volynets taking on 15th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the same third quarter. Another marquee matchup will take place in the draw's final quarter, with Sloane Stephens meeting the 16th seeded Karolina Pliskova, and two other Americans have popcorn-worthy first-round matches against other Czechs in this section: Alycia Parks faces 2019 Roland Garros finalist Marketa Vondrousova, while former University of Texas star Peyton Stearns, in her first French Open, faces doubles world No. 1 Katerina Siniakova. 

Second seed and reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka anchors the bottom quarter.

Kayla and Elizabeth Mandlik also booked places in the main draw with three wins in qualifying, and Taylor Townsend will seek to join them when she plays her third-round match on Friday.

First Rounds for American Women at the 2023 French Open

(3) Jessica Pegula vs. Danielle Collins*

(6) Coco Gauff vs. Rebeka Masarova (ESP)

(20) Madison Keys vs. Kaia Kanepi (EST)

(32) Shelby Rogers vs. Petra Martic (CRO)

Katie Volynets vs. (15) Liudmilla Samsonova

Sloane Stephens vs. (16) Karolina Pliskova (CZE)

Claire Liu vs. Q/LL

(WC) Emma Navarro vs. Anna Kalinskaya

Lauren Davis vs. Zhu Lin (CHN)

Alison Riske-Amritraj vs. Q/LL

Bernarda Pera vs. Anett Kontaveit (EST)

Madison Brengle vs. Mayar Sherif (EGY)

Caty McNally vs. Ana Bodan (ROU)

Peyton Stearns vs. Katerina Siniakova (CZE)

Alycia Parks vs. Marketa Vondrousova (CZE)

The 2023 Roland Garros women's draw can be found here. 

The men's draw also features an all-American matchup in the opening round, with Korda meeting Mackenzie McDonald. The winner of that could face another compatriot in the second round, should Maxime Cressy defeat a qualifier in his opener.

Also in a loaded top half of the draw, which includes both top seed Carlos Alcaraz and third seed Novak Djokovic, American Aleksandar Kovacevic opens against the Serbian in the second quarter.

Ben Shelton is also in Djokovic's quarter and is seeded to meet seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the third round. The 20-year-old Shelton will face Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in the opening round.

Patrick Kypson, winner of the men's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge, is also in the second quarter and opens against a qualifier.

Notable matchups in the draw's third quarter include Christopher Eubanks vs. No. 6 seed Holger Rune and an all-American matchup between Fritz and Michael Mmoh. The No. 16 seed Paul is in the same quarter, which is headed by returning finalist Casper Ruud, and will open against a qualifier.

Tiaofe opens against Filip Krajinovic in the draw's fourth quarter, which is anchored by second seed and surprise Rome champion Daniil Medvedev.