The 2018 French Open, on the WTA side, looks like a free-for-all. No one knows what’s going to happen… unless unpredictable results are the expectation. It’s easy to say that on a general level, but picking the actual winners of the year’s second Grand Slam tournament seems like an impossible task.
Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka are rusty. Maria Sharapova is improving, but had not played a lot of matches until the past few weeks in Madrid and Rome. Other players who have a chance to win the event have displayed wildly different levels of form. They could flame out or catch fire in Paris. It is hard to tell. Odds are courtesy of BetDSI.
Event Details
Event: French Open
Category: ITF (International Tennis Federation) Grand Slam
Date: May 27 – June 10, 2018
Location: Stade Roland Garros – Paris, France
With a prize money allotment of roughly 18.2 million Euros, the money at the French Open is better than ever. It is up 1.4 million Euros from 2017. Tennis has put a lot of money in the pot at the four Grand Slam tournaments over the past 15 years. Other tournaments have experienced a measure of growth, but the Slams have dramatically increased the ability of tennis pros to make a very good living. When players win three matches at a major tournament, they make six figures in American dollars, which gives them a level of income greater than what most ordinary people make in a year. Everyone knows how big an opportunity this is for so many pros. Players who have not won much of anything in terms of prize money can finally give themselves a financial foundation and pay more for training, support staff, and other resources not every tennis player enjoys.
Points
Champion – 2,000 points
Runner-up – 1,300
Semifinal – 780
Quarterfinal – 430
Round of 16 – 240
Round of 32 – 130
Round of 64 – 70
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2017 – Jelena Ostapenko def. Simona Halep – 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
2016 – Garbine Muguruza def. Serena Williams – 7-5, 6-4
2015 – Serena Williams def. Lucie Safarova – 6-3. 6-7, 6-2
2014 – Maria Sharapova def. Simona Halep – 6-4, 6-7, 6-4
2013 – Serena Williams def. Maria Sharapova – 6-4, 6-4
Player Info:
Simona Halep is the No. 1 seed, but a lot of players can win this tournament. Garbine Muguruza is known for playing poorly most of the year but then coming alive at Roland Garros or Wimbledon. Karolina Pliskova made the semifinals last year and is playing well on clay. Sharapova finally got some match play and has reason to think that her game is rounding into form at the right time. French player Caroline Garcia will have a chance to use the emotions of the home crowd in her favor. Petra Kvitova won Madrid and will try to sustain momentum in Paris.
Kiki Bertens, a 2016 semifinalist, made the final in Madrid and will be a tough out. Elina Svitolina won in Rome and will be someone every WTA player must take seriously. Serena Williams is not likely to be at her best, but she could play Sharapova in the fourth round. Sharapova could play Pliskova in the third round. Victoria Azarenka could play defending champion Jelena Ostapenko in round two.
Stade Roland Garros
The old and fabled facility was built in 1928 after its namesake, a pioneering French aviator and World War I hero. The dozens of red-clay courts are highlighted by Court Philippe Chatrier, which holds over 14,000 people; Court Suzanne Lenglen, which seats over 10,000; and a third show court to replace the old “Bullring.” The French Open, being a clay tournament, does not use the Hawkeye replay system, separating itself from the other three Grand Slam events.
