2025 French Open predictions, betting odds, preview: Can an American win at Roland Garros?

With Rafael Nadal's retirement, the clay-court tournament has a new set of contenders

The second of tennis' Grand Slam events gets underway on May 25 with the start of the French Open. The clay-court tournament is one where a slower surface speed puts an emphasis on the ability to win extended rallies and play off the baseline rather than relying on a dominant serve.

Those conditions create an environment where certain players have thrived, though none more than Rafael Nadal, who won 14 French Open titles in his career and racked up an absurd 112-4 record at the event while winning every final he made. Nadal will not participate in Roland Garros in 2025, having retired in November with an astounding 92 titles won in his legendary career.

While Nadal's absence will be notable, even after he'd fallen from his incredible career heights, his biggest career rival will be in action as Novak Djokovic looks to build on the momentum of winning his 100th career title when he defeated Hubert Hurkacz in the finals of the Geneva Open, ending a title drought that extended back to when he won gold at the 2024 Olympics.

Djokovic sits at +1200 to win Roland Garros, which may seem like long odds, but places him as third most likely to win the men's tournament. Those odds result from the dominance of the new generation of stars like last year's French Open winner Carlos Alcaraz, 22, and Italy's Jannik Sinner, 23.

Alvaraz is the favorite, currently sitting at +100 to repeat last year's accomplishment, while Sinner sits at +225. Alvaraz has won four Grand Slam tournaments to Sinner's three, though Sinner won the Australian Open to pick up the first Grand Slam title of the year.

It's been a really long time since an American man has won the French Open. The last title came in 1999 when Andre Agassi took the crown at Roland Garros. There are a handful of men looking to end that drought, including Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul who could make a run. 

While the men's side features two clear-cut favorites, the women's field feels far more competitive.

2025 French Open prize money, payouts: Carlos Alcaraz earns roughly $3 million after comeback to beat Sinner

Brent Brookhouse

Poland's Iga Swiatek has won five Grand Slam titles in her career, including four titles at Roland Garros. Swiatek has won the French Open each of the past three years and is looking to extend that run to four this year. Despite her wild success at the tournament, Swiatek is not the favorite, sitting at +300.

Swiatek has not been in her best form in 2025, opening the door for current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus to enter the tournament as the favorite at +240. Swiatek has won 20 WTA titles, including three Grand Slam titles.

While the American men have struggled mightily at this event, Serena Williams has helped prevent a longer drought on the women's side. She was the last American women to earn the title at Roland Garros back in 2015.

America's best hope for a French Open winner is 21-year-old Coco Gauff. She won the U.S. Open in 2023 and is now on the hunt for her second Grand Slam singles title. Gauff is one of two women, along with Mirra Andreeva, listed at +500 heading into the tournament.

All odds via DraftKings

2025 French Open betting odds

Men's tournament	Odds
Carlos Alcaraz	+100
Jannik Sinner	+225
Novak Djokovic	+1200
Alexander Zverev	+1800
Lorenzo Musetti	+2500
Casper Ruud	+2800
Jack Draper	+4000
Holger Rune	+4000
Arthur Fils	+6000
Stefanos Tsitsipas	+6500
Women's tournament	Odds
Aryna Sabalenka	+240
Iga Swiatek	+300
Coco Gauff	+500
Mirra Andreeva	+500
Jasmine Paolini	+1400
Qinwen Zheng	+1800
Elena Rybakina	+2800
Jelena Ostapenko	+3000
Elina Svitolina	+3000
Madison Keys	+3000

2025 French Open predictions

Men's tournament: Upsets happen and could make for a fun tournament, but this does feel like a two-horse race between Sinner and Alcaraz. For the first time, the two men will enter a Grand Slam seeded No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. A clash in the finals would be thrilling but depend on overcoming some potentially tricky matches along the way. Still, the pair are the clear favorites for a reason, and a Grand Slam final showdown is the expectation. When considering the clay surface, that potential match becomes a battle of Alcaraz's movement and speed against the cleaner ball-striking and forehand of Sinner.

Alcaraz has four consecutive wins over Sinner, including in straight sets in the finals in Rome one week prior to the start of the French Open. Rome marked Sinner's return to the court after serving three months of a doping ban after a settlement centering around accidental exposure due to what was ruled accidental contamination. Should Sinner and Alcaraz meet in the finals, another straight set win for Alcaraz would be unexpected, but a win in the end still feels like the most likely outcome. Pick: Carlos Alcaraz (+100)

Women's tournament: The women's field feels ripe for an upset. As mentioned, Swiatek has won four of the five most recent French Opens, including the three most recent. Her form is simply off heading into Roland Garros, and it doesn't set up a promising situation for the defending champ. Sabalenka is an obvious threat to run away with the tournament, but she may have a tougher path to the finals than expected. Swiatek and Sabalenka are situated on the same side of the bracket, meaning if they both win all of their matches, they would meet in the semifinals.

Gauff was given a much better draw, with Andreeva as her biggest possible obstacle to making the finals (their potential meeting would come in the semifinals). Gauff beat Andreeva in Rome and Madrid and dominated Swiatek in Madrid, winning 6-1, 6-1. Gauff's serving is an issue, but the clay makes a dominant serve less of an important factor. As long as she can minimize the double faults, Gauff plays so well off the baseline and has such a friendly draw heading into the tournament that she can make a deep run. If she meets her biggest possible challenge (Andreeva) in the semifinals, she clearly has the edge based on recent results. It would then take one good match in the finals to take down her second career Grand Slam title. Pick: Coco Gauff (+500)

Who wins the women's French Open 2025, and which enormous longshots could take the crown? Visit SportsLine now to see Onorato's bets for the French Open 2025, all from the renowned tennis expert with several high-profile future wins, and find out.