WORLD number one Ash Barty returns to Paris to try and defend her maiden Grand Slam title, and with a number of other in-form clay courters joining her in France, expect the 2020 WTA Roland Garros fantasy tennis tournament to be a massive one.

FAVOURITE:

Ash Barty (Australia)

Last year’s Roland Garros winner and world number one is a clear favourite heading into Roland Garros. Whilst others have had better clay court seasons thus far in 2020, it is hard to deny Barty deserves favouritism at this event. A first round match against Coco Gauff is not the easiest task, but her first big challenge will come in the Round of 16 against the in-form Petra Kvitova. That will be a make or break game for Barty, having avoided both Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza who are the other two star clay courters.

CONTENDERS:

Simona Halep (Romania)

The reigning champion coming into last year’s tournament, Halep fell at the quarter finals stage to Amanda Anisimova. Now with less points to defend and in good form coming off a win in Rome, Halep is in perfect form to make a run to the title again. She takes on German Andrea Petkovic in the first round, and could matchup against rising Kazakhstan star Yulia Putintseva in the third round. A quarter finals clash with Muguruza is a mouthwatering possibility, but the Romanian does have a tough draw.

Garbine Muguruza (Spain)

The Spanish star and Australian Open finalist reached the 2019 French Open fourth round before going down to Sloane Stephens. With success here in 2016, you can never discount the hard-hitting Spaniard. A tough first round opponent in Elisabetta Cocciaretto is followed by another challenge in Kristina Mladenovic in the second round. A Round of 16 clash with Kiki Bertens is also not ideal, in a tough draw, so Muguruza will have to be at her best with no easy games from her first match to the final.

Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic)

The Czech left hander has the most points to gain in the tournament after having to withdraw 12 months ago. Seeded ninth here in 2020, Kvitova has a first round match with American Jennifer Brady. Her draw until the fourth round is fairly comfortable, though world number one Barty could be waiting for her by that stage. If she can account for Barty, then expect her to potentially go the whole way having lucked out in that half of the draw.

ROUGHIES:

Maria Sakkari (Greece)

Last year’s 29th seed had a disappointing tournament, only reaching the second round before bowing out to Katerina Siniakova. In 2020, Sakkari is seeded 22nd but has a tough potential third round encounter with 10th seed, Karolina Pliskova. First up, Sakkari takes on Italian Jasmine Paolini before a likely clash against veteran Grand Slam winner Venus Williams. Having good form of late and reaching the Rabat Grand Prix final, Sakkari is primed for a run if she can get past Pliskova in that clash.

Petra Martic (Croatia)

The 14th seed is a real chance at going deep in the event having received a comfortable draw in the 2020 Roland Garros event. Martic reached the quarter finals in 2019, defeating Pliskova and Mladenovic along the way. In 2020, she takes on qualifier Varvara Lepchenko in the first round, with Johanna Konta a potential third round and Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round – matches Martic will start favourite in.

Iga Swiatek (Poland)

The Polish young gun will be keen to put last year’s tournament final result behind her when she runs out on court this year. She had a remarkable run to the Round of 16, but won just one game against a rampaging Halep. This time around she will not have to face Halep until the final, and has got three of the better possible opponents in terms of seeds in her portion of the draw. Sofia Kenin could be a third round opponent, Bianca Andreescu could be after that, whilst a quarter final against Naomi Osaka – if Swiatek makes it could be huge. But before that, her first round match against Jelena Ostapenko could be the toughest one of all.

DARK HORSE:

Sloane Stephens (USA)

The in-form American is good on clay and her form running into the French Open is terrific. Throw in her result last year – where she won through to a quarter final – and Stephens is one you can never discount. She is ranked 35th in the world currently, and is just outside a seeding position. Unfortunately for Stephens, if she gets past 28th seed Karolina Muchova in the first round, expect her to run into Barty in the third round. A tough couple of matches with Barty and then Kvitova means her draw is challenging, but she is in some terrific form.