French Open: Who are defending champions?
By John Buhler
For two weeks, the 2017 French Open will dominate the professional tennis circuit. Who ended up winning the 2016 French Open last year?
On Sunday, May 28, the 2017 French Open will begin in at 5:00 a.m. ET at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The second Grand Slam of the year will run through the next two weeks, finishing on Sunday, June 11.
Given that the clay playing surface can be especially tricky for even the best tennis players, usually the winner of the French Open comes out of nowhere. Some of the top players in the world like Spain’s Rafael Nadal and the United States’ Serena Williams have historically dominated on clay at Roland Garros.
So which players ended up winning the 2016 French Open in their respective events? In the men’s singles, Serbian Novak Djokovic won his first French Open and his 12th major tennis tournament as a professional. He had won the 2016 Australian Open before winning in Roland Garros. Last year’s win on clay helped Djokovic complete his career grand slam.
On the women’s side, Spain and Venezuela’s Garbine Muguruza won her first tennis major at Roland Garros. At 23 years old, she looks to be a player on the rise in the women’s circuit. Muguruza could be in line to win his second career major at Roland Garros this June.
Winning the men’s doubles last year were Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez. Taking the women’s doubles were France’s Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Winning the mixed doubles were Switzerland’s Martina Hingis and India’s Leander Paes.
A few players of note are not playing in the 2017 French Open. Interestingly, both of the 2017 Australian Open singles winners will not make the trek to Roland Garros. Men’s champion Roger Federer is opting not to play on clay this year in hopes of extending his brilliant career.
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Women’s champion Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open because she is expecting a child and will miss the rest of the 2017 tennis season. The 2017 French Open could still be amazing, but the two greatest players of all-time will not be taking part in it in Federer and Williams.