Is Andy Murray playing in the French Open? Ex-world number one’s plans ahead of Roland-Garros

The former World Number One Andy Murray has recently announced that he will not be playing in the French Open.

Roland-Garros has already begun with the qualifers taking place at the moment with the tournament proper to begin this weekend.

Initially there had been more uncertainty as to whether Novak Djokovic would be allowed to defend his 2021 title after failing to be able to defend his Australian Open title earlier this year.

Djokovic was deported from Victoria, Australia, as he was unable to provide sufficient evidence for not being vaccinated.

France then decided that only vaccinated people would be able to access sport venues, but the French government have since relaxed the rules and it appears that the Serbian world number one will be able to have the chance of winning a record-equalling 21st Grand Slam.

Djokovic and Murray were set to face each other for the first time in five years at the Madrid Open last week, but the 35-year-old Scotsman was forced to pull out due to illness.

Murray was originally set on missing all of the clay court season but accepted a wildcard to enter the Madrid Open, where he was performing some of his best tennis since returning from injury before withdrawing.

The Wimbledon winner has played just one French Open since 2017 and suffered a first-round exit in 2020. He is now set to miss out on the Roland- Garros tournament once more in the hope of being on top form for his home Grand Slam later this year.

Why is Andy Murray not in French Open?

Andy Murray underwent hip surgeries after the 2019 Australian Open and feared that he would be unable to play again.

He made a miraculous return to the court later that year but has been in and out of form. The 35-year-old has therefore made the decision to prioritise certain competitions in order to maximise his chances of succeeding.

Murray has since chosen to focus on Wimbledon and will rest after an extremely successful run in Madrid.

Wimbledon begins on 27 June 2022 and will run until 10 July 2022.

When is the French Open?

The French Open qualifers began today, Monday 16 May 2022, and the final is scheduled to take place on 2 June 2022 with next week seeing the main rounds of the tournament.

How to watch the French Open

Roland-Garross is available to watch on Eurosport and subscriptions for Eurosport start at £6.99/month. Go to our article on How to watch the French Open to find out more.

Which other Britons are playing in the French Open?

Cameron Norrie, who is currently competing in the ATP Lyon Open as the top seed, is expected to play in Paris and is currently the 11th seed.

Emma Raducanu is also on the list for the French Open but may have to withdraw at the last minute if her back issues continue.

Harriet Dart and Heather Watson are both expected to compete in the qualifiers for the French Open.

Who is competing in the French Open?

France have not confirmed whether they will ban the omission of Russian and Belarusian players from the tournament. At the moment, it would appear as if they are free to play.

Russian and Belarusian players are only likely to be able to compete in Wimbledon if they admit to being against Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.

Here are the top 10 predicted seeds for the French Open in both the ATP and WTA tournaments:

ATP

• Novak Djokovic
• Daniil Medvedev
• Alexander Zverev
• Stefanos Tsitsipas
• Rafael Nadal
• Carlos Alcaraz
• Andrey Rublev
• Casper Ruud
• Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Matteo Berrettini

WTA:

• Iga Swiatek
• Barbora Krejcikova
• Paula Badosa
• Maria Sakkari
• Anett Kontaveit
• Ons Jabeur
• Aryna Sabalenka
• Karolina Pliskova
• Danielle Collins
• Garbine Muguruza