Who are the men’s French Open seeds this year? How are they going? Was Rafael Nadal seeded? Who’s out, who’s in, and what does this mean for the rest of the tournament?
Read on because we’ve got the answers to these questions and more as we dive into an analysis of the men’s French Open seeds in 2024.
The second Grand Slam of the year is here, and we couldn’t be more excited. Roland-Garros 2024 sees the best 128 men’s tennis players fight it out for 15 days of glorious clay court action, culminating in one man lifting the French Open trophy on 9 June.
It’s one of the most wide-open majors of the past two decades. There’s plenty of speculation about how the next fortnight will pan out, but what we do know for sure is which players are seeded heading into the tournament.
Contents
- 1 Top Men’s French Open Seeds in 2024
- 2 Men’s French Open Seeds Full List
- 3 Why Was Rafael Nadal Not Seeded at This Year’s French Open?
- 4 Which British Players Are Playing in the 2024 French Open?
- 5 What Have Been the Biggest Upsets at Roland-Garros 2024?
- 6 Which Unseeded Players Have Done the Best at the 2024 French Open?
Top Men’s French Open Seeds in 2024
One of the most critical elements of a Grand Slam is its seeding.
Given the tournament goes from 128 players to one champion, the draw needs to be structured in a way that allows the best players to clash later on in the event, rather than immediately.
This is achieved through seeding. The 32 highest-ranked men ahead of the French Open are given a seeding. These seeds are then distributed throughout the draw so that they avoid each other until the later rounds.
For example, the top two seeds are placed in opposite halves of the draw, while each of the top four are in their own quarter.
Here’s a breakdown of the top eight seeds heading into this year’s men’s French Open.
1. Novak Djokovic
Leading the men’s field in this year’s French Open is none other than 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian came to Paris as the defending champion and is bidding to win his fourth Roland Garros title in 2024. However, it hasn’t been all plain sailing for the world No. 1 so far this year.
Djokovic is yet to win a title, or even make a final in 2024. He had a win-loss record of 14-6 coming into the French Open, with a semi-final run in Melbourne his best result.
His clay season has been stop-start. A decent showing in Monte-Carlo (lost to Casper Ruud in the semi-finals), was followed by a withdrawal from Madrid, then by two early losses in Rome and Geneva to Alejandro Tabilo and Tomas Machac, respectively.
If he’s to defend his French Open title, this is what Djokovic’s path likely looks like:
- R1 – Defeated Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6(3), 6-4
- R2 – Defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4, 6-1, 6-2
- R3 – Defeated Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7(6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
- Round of 16 – Francisco Cerundolo
- Quarter-final – Casper Ruud
- Semi-final – Alexander Zverev
- Final – Jannik Sinner / Carlos Alcaraz / Stefanos Tsitsipas
Djokovic’s first two matches at Roland Garros saw the top seed move past French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets to book a spot in the third round.
There, he came up against Lorenzo Musetti in a rematch of their 2021 Round of 16 clash. The match unfolded in a similar fashion too, with Musetti coming within a set of winning, before crumbling and losing 10 of the last 11 games. Djokovic now finds himself in the fourth round, where he'll face Francisco Cerundolo.
2. Jannik Sinner
Seeded second at the French Open and placed in the opposite side of the draw to Djokovic is Italian Jannik Sinner.
The 22-year-old has been head and shoulders above the rest of the ATP Tour this year. To date, he’s only lost twice in 2024, beginning the season with a red-hot 16-match winning streak. This run saw him lift a maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, before backing it up with a trophy in Rotterdam too.
While Carlos Alcaraz bettered him in the final of Indian Wells, this didn’t slow down Sinner. The very next week, he went all the way in Miami to claim his second Masters 1000 title.
Following this, matters became a little more challenging for Sinner. He only played two clay court tournaments, making the semi-finals and quarter-finals of Monte-Carlo and Madrid. A hip injury plagued the Italian, causing him to withdraw from Madrid and skip Rome.
Those question marks have been dispelled over the last week, with Sinner showing fine form to make the Round of 16 in Paris. Here's how he's gone so far, and what the rest of his path could look like:
- R1 – Defeated Chris Eubanks 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
- R2 – Defeated Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
- R3 – Defeated Pavel Kotov 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
- Round of 16 – Corentin Moutet
- Quarter-final – Hubert Hurkacz
- Semi-final – Carlos Alcaraz / Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Final – Novak Djokovic / Alexander Zverev / Casper Ruud
Sinner has been nothing but clinical in Paris the past week. The Italian is yet to drop a set, racing past Chris Eubanks, Richard Gasquet and Pavel Kotov with metronomic professionalism. Standing between him and another Grand Slam quarter-final is Corentin Moutet on Sunday evening.
3. Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz came to Paris as the bookmakers’ favourite to win the tournament, despite being seeded third at the French Open.
The Spaniard has had a strong year, with a record of 18-5 and one title so far. He began with a run to the quarter-finals in Melbourne, losing to Alexander Zverev in four sets. A patchy Golden Swing followed where he lost to Nicolas Jarry in Buenos Aires before retiring first round in Rio.
Alcaraz bounced back with an impressive win in Indian Wells, however. With victories over Alexander Zverev, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, the title–which was his first since Wimbledon 2023–saw the 20-year-old burst back into form.
Following this, injury concerns arose. While Alcaraz made the quarter-finals in Miami and Madrid, the world No. 3 skipped Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Rome with a forearm injury.
Thankfully, the Spaniard has been fit and healthy over the opening week of Roland-Garros. He's hitting his forehand better than ever, and is through to the Round of 16 with little drama.
Here's how he's gone so far, and what the rest of his run could look like if Alcaraz is to win a maiden French Open:
- R1 – Defeated JJ Wolf 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
- R2 – Defeated Jesper de Jong 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
- R3 – Defeated Sebastian Korda 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3
- Round of 16 – Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Quarter-final – Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Semi-final – Jannik Sinner
- Final – Novak Djokovic / Alexander Zverev / Casper Ruud
Alcaraz played on day one of the French Open, defeating JJ Wolf in straight sets to book his spot in the second round. There, he blasted past Jesper De Jong, dropping just the one set on Wednesday. He followed this up with another straight sets win, this time over Sebastian Korda. Now, Alcaraz faces Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round.
4. Alexander Zverev
Rounding out the top four French Open seeds 2024 is German Alexander Zverev.
Zverev nabbed the No. 4 seed courtesy of an impressive run in Rome that saw him lift a sixth Masters 1000 title. This saw him overtake Daniil Medvedev in the rankings, ensuring he won’t meet any other top-four players until at least the semi-finals.
For Zverev, his story hails back to this time two years ago. The 27-year-old had been building an impressive resume across his career as a challenger to the Big Three, until disaster struck at Roland Garros 2022.
Facing Nadal in the semi-finals, he suffered a devastating ankle injury after three hours of play. The injury effectively wiped out a year of Zverev’s career, and it wasn’t until Roland-Garros 2023 that he was back playing at a high level.
This year, the German has played himself into some decent form. He’s 28-9 for the season, with semi-finals in Melbourne and Miami his most significant results outside of the Rome title.
He's backed up his 2024 form with a run to the second week of the French Open. Here's how it's unfolded, and what the remainder of his run could look like if he’s to win the title:
- R1 – Defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3
- R2 – Defeated David Goffin 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2
- R3 – Defeated Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3)
- Round of 16 – Holger Rune
- Quarter-final – Daniil Medvedev
- Semi-final – Novak Djokovic / Casper Ruud
- Final – Jannik Sinner / Carlos Alcaraz / Stefanos Tsitsipas
Zverev’s French Open campaign began with a blockbuster against 14-time champion Rafael Nadal in the opening round. He showed impressive steel to win a tight three set match, backing this up with another straight set victory in the second round over David Goffin.
Most recently, Zverev survived a significant scare in the third round, with Tallon Griekspoor taking him all the way to a match tiebreak, which Zverev won 10-3.
5. Daniil Medvedev
Narrowly missing out on a top-four seeding at the French Open is Daniil Medvedev.
The Russian is a self-proclaimed hard-court specialist, and is came to Paris off a first-round defeat in 2023. Medvedev has had a middling season so far by his standards, somewhat in the shadow of Sinner and Alcaraz.
The 28-year-old is yet to claim a title, with a record of 24-7 on the year. His best results have been finals in Melbourne and Indian Wells, plus a Miami semi-final.
Medvedev was 6-3 on European clay coming into Roland-Garros in 2024, and had also had struggled with injury. A back issue saw him withdraw from the Madrid quarter-finals. So far this tournament, he's seemed physically fit, however.
Here’s what Medvedev’s draw has looked like at the French Open this year, and what he'll likely need to do to lift the title:
- R1 – Defeated Dominik Koepfer 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
- R2 – Defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 5-0 ret.
- R3 – Defeated Tomas Machac 7-6(4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
- Round of 16 – Alex de Minaur
- Quarter-final – Alexander Zverev
- Semi-final – Novak Djokovic / Casper Ruud
- Final – Carlos Alcaraz / Jannik Sinner / Stefanos Tsitsipas
Medvedev played his first-round match on Monday at Roland-Garros, defeating German Dominik Koepfer in four sets. He then eased past Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round courtesy of a retirement in the second set. Most recently, he won another four-setter, defeating Geneva finalist Tomas Machac.
6. Andrey Rublev – ELIMINATED Third Round
Another Russian, Andrey Rublev, was seeded sixth at this year’s French Open.
The 26-year-old had had a mercurial year so far. The season began well, with a title in Hong Kong followed by a 10th Grand Slam quarter-final run in Melbourne. However, a default in Dubai for an on-court outburst saw Rublev spiral, with four straight losses coming off the back of the incident.
Rublev snapped this losing streak in style, winning his second Masters 1000 title in Madrid. Wins over Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime saw him lift the trophy. Since then, he suffered an early upset in Rome but came to Paris in relatively good shape, all things considered.
However, the No. 6 seed again struggled with his emotions on court, crashing out in straight sets to world No. 35 Matteo Arnaldi.
Here’s how Rublev's run looked at Roland Garros 2024:
- R1 – Defeated Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-5
- R2 – Defeated Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- R3 – Lost to Matteo Arnaldi 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4
7. Casper Ruud
Sitting seventh in the French Open seeds 2024 is two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud.
The Norwegian came to Paris fresh off the back of a third title in Geneva. Here, he played a significant amount of tennis for the week before a Grand Slam, going to a deciding set in three of his four matches.
Prior to the Geneva title, Ruud had had a brilliant season. He leads the ATP Tour for wins in 2024 with 35, and just nine losses. While his season began with a disappointing third-round exit at the Australian Open, it’s only been up since then–back-to-back finals in Los Cabos and Acapulco, followed by moderate runs at the Sunshine Double.
His clay swing has been one of the best on Tour this year.
It began by making the final of Monte-Carlo, where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas. The next week, revenge was exacted as the pair met again in the final of Barcelona, with Ruud winning. Losses in Madrid and Rome weren’t great, but the 25-year-old has bounced back strong with the Geneva result.
Here’s how Ruud’s tournament has gone so far, and how his title challenge in Roland Garros could unfold:
- R1 – Defeated Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- R2 – Defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
- R3 – Defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
- Round of 16 – Taylor Fritz
- Quarter-final – Novak Djokovic
- Semi-final – Alexander Zverev
- Final – Carlos Alcaraz / Jannik Sinner / Stefanos Tsitsipas
Ruud began his Paris campaign on Tuesday against Brazil’s Felipe Meligeni Alves, winning in straight sets. He then survived a five-set battle with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to make the third round. Most recently, he saw off the challenge of Tomas Martin Etcheverry in four sets to make the Round of 16.
8. Hubert Hurkacz
Rounding out the top eight French Open seeds in 2024 is Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.
The world No. 8 is at a career-high ranking heading into Paris and is at 26-11 for the year with one title. His season has been solid so far–a quarter-final run in Melbourne was followed by a handful of wins across Marseille, Rotterdam, Dubai, and Miami.
Surprisingly, Hurkacz has had one of his better clay court seasons.
The 27-year-old’s big serve typically inclines him to perform better on hard courts. However, a title in Estoril and a 7-3 record across the three clay Masters 1000s in 2024 begs to differ.
Hurkacz’s best result at Roland Garros is the Round of 16. If he’s to hold seed and better that, this is what his path would look like, and how he's gone so far:
- R1 – Defeated Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
- R2 – Defeated Brandon Nakashima 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(5)
- R3 – Defeated Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-1
- Round of 16 – Grigor Dimitrov
- Quarter-final – Jannik Sinner
- Semi-final – Carlos Alcaraz / Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Final – Novak Djokovic / Alexander Zverev / Casper Ruud
Hurkacz began his French Open campaign on Sunday, where he went to a deciding set against qualifier Mochizuki. On Thursday, he had a challenging time too, seeing off Brandon Nakashima after losing the first set. Most recently, he overcame Denis Shapovalov in four sets to make the Round of 16.
Men’s French Open Seeds Full List
You’ve seen our detailed breakdown of the top eight French Open seeds for 2024. However, there are 32 seeds in total across the men’s draw. Here’s the complete list:
- Novak Djokovic
- Jannik Sinner
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Alexander Zverev
- Daniil Medvedev
- Andrey Rublev – LOST R3
- Casper Ruud
- Hubert Hurkacz
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Grigor Dimitrov
- Alex de Minaur
- Taylor Fritz
- Holger Rune
- Tommy Paul – LOST R3
- Ben Shelton – LOST R3
- Nicolas Jarry – LOST R1
- Ugo Humbert – LOST R1
- Karen Khachanov – LOST R2
- Alexander Bublik – LOST R2
- Sebastian Baez – LOST R2
- Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Adrian Mannarino – LOST R1
- Francisco Cerundolo
- Alejandro Tabilo – LOST R1
- Frances Tiafoe – LOST R2
- Tallon Griekspoor – LOST R3
- Sebastian Korda – LOST R3
- Tomas Martin Etcheverry – LOST R3
- Arthur Fils – LOST R1
- Lorenzo Musetti – LOST R3
- Mariano Navone – LOST R2
- Cameron Norrie – LOST R1
These are the 32 men seeded at the 2024 French Open. After seven day's play, 18 of the seeds have fallen – however, 12 of the top 13 remain intact.
Why Was Rafael Nadal Not Seeded at This Year’s French Open?
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: why was Rafael Nadal not seeded at this year’s French Open?
Nadal has won the tournament a record 14 times, and has only lost three times. That’s right, he’s won an incredible 97.4 percent of matches, prevailing in 112 of 115 matches at Roland Garros.
However, the past 18 months have seen Nadal struggle with significant injuries. These have sidelined him for long chunks of time and mean that the Spaniard’s ranking currently sits at No. 275 in the world.
While technically, a tournament can do what it likes with seeding, deviating from the ATP rankings is unprecedented in the Open era. As a result, despite Nadal’s impeccable record at the French Open, he did not receive a seeding due to his low ranking.
Which British Players Are Playing in the 2024 French Open?
Four British players gained entry to the main draw at the 2024 French Open:
- Cam Norrie – LOST R1
- Jack Draper – LOST R1
- Dan Evans – LOST R1
- Andy Murray – LOST R1
Unfortunately, it has not been happy hunting for British men this Roland-Garros, with all four losing their opening matches.
For Draper, he fell behind 2-0 against qualifier Jesper de Jong, and did well to grit out a third set tiebreak then win the fourth to force a decider. However, an untimely double fault meant he was unable to keep the momentum going, with the Brit losing in five sets, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-3..
Murray's match wasn't quite so close, with the veteran going up against fellow Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka. The Swiss was too powerful off the backhand side on the clay, however, racing past the 37-year-old in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
Norrie lost a marathon five-setter to Pavel Kotov on Monday. The No 32 seed won the opening set, and was looking good to close out the match after going up two sets to one. However, Kotov won the fourth set tiebreaker 7-5, then ran away with the fifth 6-2.
Evans had a tough challenge in No 13 seed Holger Rune. While the veteran made sure Rune didn't run away with the match, he was comprehensively beaten 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
What Have Been the Biggest Upsets at Roland-Garros 2024?
While seeding is a strong indication of how players will perform, it’s rare that all 32 seeds navigate it through the opening week of a Grand Slam. Of the 2024 French Open seeds, here are the biggest upsets so far:
- Andrey Rublev (6) – LOST R3
- Nicolas Jarry (16) – LOST R1
- Ugo Humbert – LOST R1
While 18 seeds have gone home already, the three biggest upsets by far are the dismissals of Rublev, Jarry and Humbert.
Jarry came to Paris in great form, having made the final of Rome a week earlier. We're not ashamed to say we were high on him, and had Jarry as an outside shot at the title this year. However, the Chilean crashed out of the tournament in his first match, losing to Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.
Humbert also suffered a shock first-round loss. The French No.1 had high hopes of making a deep run in front of his home crowd, but these dreams came crashing down in round one. Humbert lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
By far the biggest upset of the tournament so far has been Rublev's exit, however. The Russian won Madrid this year and was looking like a title contender in Paris, having made 10 Grand Slam quarter-finals previously. However, Matteo Arnaldi sent him packing in the third round, blowing Rublev away in straight sets.
Which Unseeded Players Have Done the Best at the 2024 French Open?
Every year, a few players punch above their weight and make deep runs at the French Open, despite not being seeded. Here’s which unseeded players have done the best in 2024:
- Matteo Arnaldi
- Corentin Moutet
Only two unseeded player remain in the 2024 French Open, with Arnaldi and Moutet making it through to the Round of 16. As we touched on above, both got big upsets, with Arnaldi dispatching Rublev and Moutet overcoming Jarry.
Each have big challenges ahead of them however, if they're to continue their runs. Arnaldi faces No. 9 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Moutet is up against second seed Jannik Sinner.
Make sure to head over to our French Open 2024 predictions and see the best bets to place on these players to generate the best return. Don't forget to check out our analysis of the women's seeds too, plus our prediction of who will win the women's French Open and daily betting tips.