French Open 2023: when is Carlos Alcaraz playing? How to watch on UK TV - who is he playing and ranking

Carlos Alcaraz will shortly be taking to the courts as he prepares to fight for a second Grand Slam. The 20-year-old Spaniard had a breakout year on tour in 2022, culminating in him winning the US Open in September.

He is the number one seed at the tournament after his compatriot and 14-time French Open winner Rafael Nadal was forced to withdraw from the competition due to injury.

Nadal announced that he would be beginning his retirement following next year’s ATP season and the French Open 2024 could be the final time the 22 Grand Slam winner takes to the clay courts of Paris.

However, as we look ahead to Nadal’s young apprentice coming up through the ranks, here is all you need to know as Carlos Alcaraz continues his French Open 2023 tournament...

When is Carlos Alcaraz playing?

Carlos Alcaraz will take to the court on Friday 2 June, with the match expected to begin at 7.15pm BST. He will play his fixture on the Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Who is his opponent?

Alcaraz, ranked number one in the world, will play Denis Shapovalov who is the Canadian world number 31, seeded 26th in the tournament.

The third round of the tournament is the furthest the 24-year-old has reached in the French Open but he has previously played in the Wimbledon semi-finals as well as the US and Australian Open quarter-finals.

The two players have never played each other before. Shapovalov beat Brandon Nakashima in five sets as well as Matteo Arnaldi in four sets to reach Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.

Who could Alcaraz play in the fourth round?

Alcaraz, if he wins, could play either Lorenzo Musetti or Britain’s Cameron Norrie, both of whom are seeded within the top 20 of the tournament.

How to watch the French Open 2023

The second Grand Slam of the year will be shown across Eurosport platforms in the UK. Eurosport 1 and 2 will have wall-to-wall coverage of the tournament each day as the rounds progress.

It will also be possible to live stream the action through Eurosport’s discovery+ and the plan is available for £6.99/year or £59.99/year. Discovery+ can be added to Amazon Prime accounts by signing up as an add-on.

Who else is playing in the French Open?

Cameron Norrie is now the only British tennis star to be playing in the French Grand Slam after Dan Evans got knocked out by Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jack Draper was forced to retire due to injury.

While Alcaraz is the top seed at the tournament, there is one player determined to make more history as he seeks his 23rd Grand Slam title. Novak Djokovic, who has been seeded third, won the 2021 French Open title and will hope to secure a record-breaking Grand Slam as he takes to the clay courts this week.

Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune and last year’s finalist Capser Ruud are also all participating in this year’s French Open but Andy Murray has been forced to give the rest of the clay court season a miss as he prepares for the grass court tournaments and his home slam, Wimbledon.