Roland Garros 2026 Preview: One Half of the Draw Is Doing All the Work

The draw is out, Paris is heating up, and Ground Pass is back with a full Roland Garros 2026 preview. Anastasia and Nick break down a lopsided men's draw where most of the drama lives in the bottom half, a wide-open women's draw with at least fifteen real title contenders, and the section of the bracket where Iga Świątek and Novak Djokovic both drew the worst possible neighborhoods.We get into Carlos Alcaraz's grass-season pullout (and yes, that Vanity Fair cover), the players we're watching from the top of the field down to the qualifiers, the wild card storyline we've been tracking all year in Akasha Urhobo, and the first-round matches we're refusing to miss, including a bold upset call on Aryna Sabalenka in round one.Plus: dates for our McCarran Park screenings, how to join the Ground Pass crew in the Served Bracket Challenge, the launch of our daily Coffee Catch-Up newsletter for the fortnight, and Nick reading a tennis match report from 1878 that you have to hear to believe.Players covered include Arthur Fils, Mirra Andreeva, Casper Ruud, Linda Nosková, Rafael Jodar, Lilli Tagger, Elina Svitolina, Flavio Cobolli, Hailey Baptiste, Eliot Spizzirri, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Nishesh Basavareddy, Kaitlin Quevedo, Emilio Nava, Michael Zheng, Toby Samuel, and Akasha Urhobo.Chapters:00:00 Weather and Merch: A Warm Welcome03:19 Carlos Alcaraz's Withdrawal from Wimbledon07:47 Thoughts on the Roland Garros Draw Ceremony11:00 Join us for the Served Bracket Challenge13:44 McCarren park Screenings details15:14 Draw Analysis: Men's and Women's Perspectives19:27 Players to Watch: Rising Stars and Dark Horses34:28 Qualifiers to watch39:00 Spotlight on Qualifiers: Rising Stars40:46 Wild Cards and Their Potential44:13 Our interview with Akasha Urhobo53:10 Exciting Matches to Watch: First Round Highlights59:02 Roland-Garros Updates: What to Expect01:04:28 Tennis History: A Look Back [Outro]Links:Send us a voice memo: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/voice-memoAthletic story about Alcaraz injury [Gift Link]: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7263807/2026/05/20/tennis-worst-injury-wrist-recovery-treatment/?source=user_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.klA.BuEf.htnlRpDbLNVVRoland Garros Draw: https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/guides/rolandgarros2026printabledrawsServed Bracket Challenge: https://served.bracket.tennis💬 Don’t forget to give us a leave is a 5 ⭐️ rating and drop us a comment Want to Support Ground Pass - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/supportOur New Merch is LIVE!!! Ground Pass Shop - https://www.groundpasspodcast.com/shop Where You can Find us Online:Substack - https://groundpass.substack.com Website - www.groundpasspodcast.com Email - groundpasspodcast@gmail.com Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ground_pass Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/groundpass.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ground_pass Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GroundPass TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@groundpasspodcast X: https://x.com/groundpasspod