French Open 2025 Guide: How to Watch, Who’s Favored

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French Open 2025 Guide: How to Watch, Who’s Favored/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The 2025 French Open begins Sunday with new storylines in Nadal’s absence. Fans can watch via TNT, TruTV, and HBO Max, with Alcaraz and Sabalenka leading the odds. Defending champs Swiatek and Alcaraz return as major contenders in Paris.

FILE – Winner Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy as he won the men’s final match of the French Open tennis tournament against Germany’s Alexander Zverev at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, June 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)

French Open 2025 Guide + Quick Looks

Tournament starts Sunday, May 25, at 11 a.m. local (5 a.m. ET).
Watch in the U.S. via TNT, TruTV, HBO Max under a new 10-year deal.
First French Open without Rafael Nadal, who retired in 2024.
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are defending champions.
Top seeds: Aryna Sabalenka (WTA No. 1), Jannik Sinner (ATP No. 1).
Betting favorites: Alcaraz (+105), Sabalenka (+275), Swiatek (+350).
Prize money total: €56.35 million, with €2.55 million to singles winners.
Matches played on red clay with updated tie-break rules.
Event runs for 15 days with day and night sessions.

FILE – Poland’s Iga Swiatek holds the trophy after winning the women’s final of the French Open tennis tournament against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, France, June 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

French Open 2025 Guide: How to Watch, Who’s Favored

Deep Look

The 2025 French Open is set to commence this Sunday at the iconic Roland-Garros venue in Paris, and it brings a mix of nostalgia, fresh competition, and a shifting of power in the tennis world. This year’s event marks the first since Rafael Nadal—“The King of Clay”—announced his retirement, ending an era defined by his record 14 titles in Paris.

For viewers in the United States, coverage of the tournament begins bright and early, at 5 a.m. Eastern Time, with matches airing across TNT, TruTV, and streaming via HBO Max. This marks the debut year of a landmark 10-year broadcasting agreement worth $650 million, giving American audiences unprecedented access to the clay-court Grand Slam.

While the tournament will honor Nadal during a special ceremony on Sunday at Court Philippe-Chatrier, attention quickly turns to the players competing this year. Iga Swiatek of Poland, the reigning women’s champion, returns in pursuit of a fourth French Open title. On the men’s side, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz looks to defend his crown after becoming the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces—clay, grass, and hard court—by age 21.

Swiatek enters Paris as the second favorite in the women’s field at +350 according to BetMGM Sportsbook, trailing current WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who is listed at +275. On the men’s side, Alcaraz is favored at +105, ahead of top-seeded Jannik Sinner at +200. These odds reflect momentum on tour and seeding based on current ATP and WTA rankings.

Beyond the stars, the tournament schedule spans 15 days of intense competition on the storied red clay. Matches will feature a mix of day and night sessions, and the main stadium has a retractable roof to accommodate weather delays. For the first three days (May 25-27), fans can watch opening round action for both men’s and women’s draws. The event culminates with the women’s final on June 7 and the men’s final on June 8.

French Open 2025 Singles Schedule:

May 25–27: First Round
May 28–29: Second Round
May 30–31: Third Round
June 1–2: Fourth Round
June 3–4: Quarterfinals
June 5: Women’s Semifinals
June 6: Men’s Semifinals
June 7: Women’s Final
June 8: Men’s Final

Matches follow traditional Grand Slam formats: men play best-of-five sets, with a 10-point tiebreaker at 6-all in the fifth set, while women play best-of-three sets with the same rule applied in the third set.

In addition to high-level tennis, players are competing for a share of the event’s €56.352 million prize pool (approximately $62.5 million). The singles champions will each earn €2.55 million (about $2.8 million).

Is it called the French Open or Roland-Garros? Both terms are used interchangeably. While English speakers often refer to it as the French Open, the French Tennis Federation and most international outlets use “Roland-Garros,” the name of the facility and the World War I pilot it’s named after.

As the tournament kicks off, fans can explore stories behind the biggest headlines, including Nadal’s absence, the emergence of new contenders, and ongoing discussions about prize money, doping policies, and equity within the sport.

For those eager to test their tennis trivia, the Associated Press has also created a French Open quiz to challenge fans’ knowledge ahead of the matches.

With a new generation of stars rising, a new broadcast era in the U.S., and a fresh slate of thrilling matchups on the red clay, Roland-Garros 2025 promises to deliver unforgettable tennis moments.