WTA French Open: Points being dropped by Gauff, Sabalenka, Swiatek, Rybakina, Raducanu, Eala
Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek have the most points at stake at the 2026 French Open while Elena Rybakina is in a good position compared to her title rivals.
World No 1 Sabalenka will once again be the top seed at Roland Garros this year and she is followed by Rybakina, Gauff, Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Elina Svitolina, Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko.
Sabalenka and Gauff played in the final last year and they will drop the points they earned for their runs at the start of this year’s event as the WTA uses a rolling 52-week cumulative system to determine the rankings.
It means players have to defend points from corresponding periods/tournaments 12 months ago and they earn points for their round-by-round progression at the current event.
Points Big Names Will Drop At Roland Garros
Coco Gauff – 2,000
The reigning champion won her second Grand Slam with a three-set victory over Sabalenka last year and earned the maximum points so she will slip a couple of places from her current No 4 in the Live Rankings.
Gauff, of course, can work her way back up by reaching the latter stages of this year’s tournament.
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Aryna Sabalenka – 1,300
Runners-up earn 1,300 points so Sabalenka will also take a big hit, but there is good news and bad news for the four-time Grand Slam winner.
She will remain top in the Live Rankings ahead of Rybakina as she will be on 8,660 versus the Kazakh star’s 8,083, but it does mean Rybakina can overtake her with a title run.
Iga Swiaitek and Lois Boisson – 780
Swiatek was the defending champion last year, but she slumped to a three-set defeat to Sabalenka in the last four and will thus defend 780 points. The Pole could overtake Rybakina if she wins the title, but she can also slip several places if she loses early.
Boisson was the surprise package last year, but the Frenchwoman has struggled so far this year as she sits 43rd in the Live Rankings with 1,264 points and will lose half of that at the start of the clay-court Grand Slam.
Zheng Qinwen, Elina Svitolina, Mirra Andreeva, Madison Keys – 430
Zheng stands to lose the most as she has already dropped out of the top 50 and could drop out of the top 100 if she loses early.
World No 7 Svitolina and world No 8 Andreeva will likely remain in the top 10 while Keys, currently 19th, could slip out of the top 20.
Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Jasmine Paolini – 240
Reigning Australian Open champion Rybakina will be on 8,073 points once the 240 from last year come off and she needs to reach at least the semi-final to stand any chance of becoming world No 1.
Pegula and Anisimova are set to remain in the top 10 with Paolini still comfortable inside the top 20.
Victoria Mboko – 170
The Canadian teenager, currently ranked No 9, came through qualifying last year before losing in the third round so she has 170 points to defend, but she will most likely stay in the top 10 even if she loses early.
Emma Raducanu – 70
British No 1 Raducanu lost against Swiatek in the second round last year and she heads to Roland Garros with only one match on clay under her belt this year.
Alex Eala – 10
Eala became the first Filipina woman to qualify for the main draw of a Grand Slam last year, but she was beaten in three sets by Emiliano Arango in the first round.
She has another tough opener as she faces world No 17 Iva Jovic in her opener.
