The 2026 French Open has kickstarted in all action, and it is done with its opening round. After the qualifiers, the first round commenced on May 24 and concluded on May 26 for both the men’s and women’s singles tournaments.
The opening round of the Roland Garros delivered several major surprises, with top seeds crashing out far earlier than expected. On the men’s side, the Seed No. 6, Daniil Medvedev, suffered another disappointing exit on clay, continuing his struggles at the tournament, despite entering as one of the favorites.
On the other hand, the women’s draw also witnessed a huge change in the outlook of the women’s bracket after the seed No. 5, Jessica Pegula, was knocked out in the first round. She entered Paris with strong expectations after her recent impressive Charleston Open and Italian Open campaigns; however, things did not pan out as expected for her.
Let’s have a look at all the seeds that crashed out in the opening round of the 2026 French Open.
Complete list of the seeds that crashed out of the French Open Round 1
Here are the seeds that suffered an early exit in the opening round of the Roland Garros in both the men’s and women’s singles tournaments.
Men’s Singles
- Taylor Fritz
The seventh seed, Taylor Fritz, suffered a shocking first-round exit at the 2026 French Open, losing to fellow American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. The match was tightly contested through the first three sets, which all went to tiebreaks. The fourth-set was completely dominated by Basavareddy, claiming a 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(11), 6-1 victory. This loss marked Fritz’s second consecutive first-round loss.
2. Tomás Martín Etcheverry
Tomás Martín Etcheverry, who was seeded 23rd, suffered a straight-sets first-round defeat at Roland Garros, losing to Portugal’s Nuno Borges with a score of 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on May 24. With his loss, he became one of the first major seeds to exit the tournament across either draw. In his head-to-head with Borges, this is the Argentine’s third consecutive loss against him in the past eight months. Entering the tournament, he was Argentina’s top-ranked male player and a former 2023 quarter-finalist; however, his exit came as a shock, erasing valuable ranking points.
3. Jiri Lehecka
Jiri Lehecka’s first-round loss at the 2026 French Open was another notable early exit, where the 12th-seeded Czech player was upset by Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets (6-3, 7-6, 6-3). The contest lasted for 1 hour and 57 minutes, and the defeat came was one of the biggest surprises of the opening days of the 2026 men’s singles draw.
The Czech player is known for his aggressive play on clay; however, he still struggled with consistency and fell short of executing his traditional first-serve dominance in the French Open conditions.
4. Alexander Bublik
The ninth-seeded Alexander Bublik also faced an upset in the first round of the 2026 Roland Garros by Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. After a tough match of 3 hours and 10 minutes on Court 14, the German registered a 7-5, 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-5 victory. The Kazakh player registered an impressive 25 aces but struggled with 10 double faults and wasn’t able to handle the pressure exchanges as smoothly as his opponent. He was another high-profile seed to collapse early in the tournament, bringing a significant change in the draws.
5. Cameron Norrie
Cameron Norrie, who was seeded 20th, retired mid-match in the first round of the 2026 French Open against Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, bringing an end to his Roland Garros campaign. He withdrew from the tournament due to an inflamed rib joint when trailing 7-6 (9-7), 2-0 after continuing the game for 1 hour and 18 minutes. He showcased discomfort in the first game of the second set and was given immediate treatment; however, he eventually retired after the second game of the second set.
6. Daniil Medvedev
The sixth seed Daniil Medvedev stunned the fans with his shocking first-round exit at the 2026 French Open, losing to the Australian wildcard Adam Walton. The latter prevailed over one of the top seeds of the tournament by claiming a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory. The Russian player’s hopes of winning the Grand Slam were dashed after a 2-hour and 22-minute play at Court Suzanne-Lenglen. This loss marked his seventh first-round defeat in his ten appearances at Roland Garros.
He struggled heavily with unforced errors and committed 60 in total. In his pos-match press conference, he admitted to playing a ‘silly’ match.
7. Talon Griekspoor
Women’s Singles
- Clara Tauson
Clara Tauson once again went through a frustrating first-round collapse at the 2026 French Open, losing 6-3, 5-7, 2-6 to Ukraine’s Daria Snigur on Sunday, May 24. Entering the tournament as the 21st seed, she dominated initially, and it looked liked she was about to claim a comfortable victory before physical struggles derailed her performance. She commanded the first set 6-3 and continued the momentum in the second set, but her opponent made a comeback and claimed the set.
In the final set, Tauson’s motion struggle was visible, and she also expressed her issue to her coaching team. Eventually, taking advantage of the situation, Snigur won the set 6-2 and claimed the victory. A few days before her arrival in Paris, Tayson revealed that she was dealing with two herniated discs in her back, and this immensely impacted her movement and her game.
2. Leylah Fernandez
The 24th seed, Leylah Fernandez, locked horns with Alycia Parks in the opening round of the French Open on Monday, May 25. She suffered a straight-sets (6-4, 6-4) defeat on the clay court, marking the second consecutive year of the Canadian exiting the tournament in the opening round.
Starting on a strong note, the Canadian earned an immediate 0-1 lead on Park’s serve; however, the latter rebounded by securing eight consecutive service points. She carried her momentum in the second round and prevailed over Fernandez.
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