If Tommy Paul doesn’t reach the second week at the French Open for the first time in his career this year, he can’t blame his draw. Paul, the No. 12 seed, has the easiest draw in the 128-player field for the clay-court major that gets underway May 25 in Paris, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents.
Paul, who has never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros, starts the 2025 event against a qualifier. His second-round match will be against an opponent outside the Top 100 - either No. 127 Tristan Schoolkate or No. 134 Marton Fucsovic.
Paul likely would face No. 24 seed Karen Khachanov in the third round, where he would get a chance to avenge a three-set loss at the ATP 1000 event in Madrid last month.
Who got the easiest and toughest draws for the French Open?
Toughest draw for a top seed
In a recurring theme this clay-court season, No. 9 Alex de Minaur got the toughest draw among the top players, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents. He landed in the same half of the draw as No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner, No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, and three-time champion Novak Djokovic.
Before de Minaur can get that far, he’ll have to get past a challenging first-round match against No. 59 Laslo Djere and a possible third-round showdown against rising star Jakub Mensik, who won the ATP 1000 event in Miami earlier this spring.
Toughest draw overall
No. 43 Marcos Giron and No. 53 Gabriel Diallo share the toughest draw in the field, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents. Giron and Diallo share a section of the draw with No. 18 seed Francisco Cerundolo and a near-seed, No. 34 Tallon Griekspoor.
Whoever survives that section likely would face nothing but top-16 seeds through the rest of the tournament.
Best opportunity for an unseeded player
World No. 69 Damir Dzumher has a navigable path to the third round. He’ll face a qualifier in the first round. The likely opponent in the second round is No. 31 seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who has not won a full tour-level match since February. (Don’t count on Dzumher past that.) Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz likely would await in the third round.