French Open 2017: When does it start?

The 2017 French Open starts on Sunday, May 28. 

One of the most popular tennis tournaments in the world is the French Open. In 2017, the major starts play on Sunday, May 28. It’s held over a two week period, with the men’s and women’s tournaments running at the same time. Of the four Grand Slam tournaments, this open is the second of the quartet. It’s also the lone of the four majors played on clay. Held at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, the tournament is the most famous in the world on clay.

Roger Federer will not be participating in the French Open. However, the men’s field is still going to be quite competitive. 2016 champion Novak Djokovic will be defending his men’s singles title. Rafael Nadal, who has won the tournament nine of the past 12 times, will also be there. However, he hasn’t won since 2014. Meanwhile, Djokovic has made an appearance in the past three finals.

Garbiñe Muguruza is the reigning women’s singles champion, although Serena Williams has made an appearance in the finals in three of the past four years. Maria Sharapova will not be participating due to a ban. Her absence makes the women’s field look a little less competitive, as she’s come back strong from her suspension due to doping.

Men’s doubles champions Feliciano López and Marc López will try to repeat. Standing in their way, however, will be Bob Ryan and Mike Ryan, who were the runners up in each of the past two opens. Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, the reigning women’s doubles champions, ended their doubles career back in March, leaving a pretty wide open field.

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The tournament takes place over a two week period. It’s a fairly long tournament, but the action never seems to stop. Even with some big draws missing, there are still a lot of reasons to watch.