Sloane Stephens has entered the 2026 French Open qualifying draw.
The world number 396 will need to win three qualifying matches to join the 128-woman field in Paris.
When Stephens reached the French Open final in 2018, she might not have believed that she would need to play qualies at the same event, just eight years later.
Sloane Stephens will play French Open qualies next month
Stephens will play qualies at this year’s French Open.
The American had hoped to qualify for the main draw via her ranking, but hasn’t performed well enough on the WTA Tour this year.
Since January, Stephens has only won three matches.
Sloane Stephens’ record since January
- 2026 Indian Wells 1R [LOSS] vs Camila Osorio
- 2026 Miami Open 1R [WIN] vs Jennifer Brady
- 2026 Miami Open 2R [LOSS] vs Qinwen Zheng
- 2026 Charleston Open 1R [LOSS] vs Renata Zarazua
- 2026 Linz Open 1R [WIN] vs Tatjana Maria
- 2026 Linz Open 2R [LOSS] vs Mirra Andreeva
- 2026 Open de Rouen 1R [LOSS] vs Veronika Podrez
- 2026 Madrid Open Q1 [WIN] vs Diane Parry
- 2026 Madrid Open Q2 [LOSS] vs Anhelina Kalinina
- 2026 Saint Malo WTA 125 1R [LOSS] vs Tereza Valentova
And those three wins came against opponents with a combined ranking of 900.
Struggling to string wins together, it’s hard to imagine Stephens winning the three consecutive matches required to qualify for the French Open main draw.
However, seemingly out of nowhere, she did just that at the Australian Open in January.
Having last won three matches in a row back in 2024, Stephens defeated Barbora Palicova, Olivia Gadecki, and Lucia Bronzetti, to reach the first round of the Australian Open.
Only time will tell if she can repeat the feat in Paris next month.
Sloane Stephens reached the French Open final eight years ago
Winning the US Open title at the end of the 2017 season, Stephens was determined to add to her Grand Slam tally in 2018.
A first-round exit in Melbourne wasn’t the perfect start, admittedly, but she didn’t let that affect her.
Stephens bounced back in style at the French Open, reaching the quarter-finals for the first time.
- 2018 French Open 1R [WIN] vs Arantxa Rus
- 2018 French Open 2R [WIN] vs Magdalena Frech
- 2018 French Open 3R [WIN] vs Camila Giorgi
- 2018 French Open 4R [WIN] vs Anett Kontaveit
There, she met the 14th seed, Daria Kasatkina.
Stephens made light work of Kasatkina, winning 6-3, 6-1, to set up a US Open final rematch with Madison Keys.
Keys was desperate for revenge, but came up short once again, losing to Stephens in straight sets.
Stephens advanced to the final, where she took on the top seed, Simona Halep.
The American made a strong start, taking the first set, 6-3, as she moved within touching distance of the French Open title.
But Halep’s quality soon shone through, battling back to win in three sets, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
Stephens never returned to the French Open final, but did make two further quarter-final appearances (2019, 2022).
Whether she can upset the odds and make a deep run in Paris this year remains to be seen.
The 2026 French Open qualifying event begins on Monday, May 18.
Who else has entered French Open qualifying?
Stephens isn’t the only big name playing qualies at Roland Garros.
Former world number one, Karolina Pliskova, now ranked 197th, will join her in the qualifying draw, as will another former French Open finalist, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Spain’s Paula Badosa, the 2021 quarter-finalist, will also play qualifying.
On the men’s side, the biggest surprise inclusion is Grigor Dimitrov.
The Bulgarian hasn’t played Grand Slam qualifying since the 2011 Australian Open, 15 years ago.
Dimitrov has struggled ever since suffering a heartbreaking injury while leading Jannik Sinner by two sets to love at Wimbledon last summer.
