Yannick Noah Day - Sat May 25

Rybakina on her chances

World No.4 Elena Rybakina was one of a handful of stars to meet the media on Saturday and Chris Oddo was in the interview room listening carefully to the Kazakh's words. Afterwards he assessed her chances of going all the way in Paris.

>> RYBAKINA HAS WHAT IT TAKES

Get ready for the off...

Naomi Osaka gets proceedings under way on Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday.

Alix Ramsay looks ahead to the clash and gives us her thoughts.   

>> DAY 1 - MATCH OF THE DAY: MUM'S THE WORD

One more sleep...

The wait is almost over. Action in the Roland-Garros 2024 main draw starts at 11:00 around the grounds and at midday on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Alex Sharp gives us an overview of what's in store.

>> ROLAND-GARROS 2024: THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER

Nadal: I am enjoying playing tennis

Read Chris Oddo's analysis of Nadal's press conference on Saturday, when the Spaniard insisted that he's not quite ready to call time on his playing career.

>> DOOR REMAINS OPEN FOR IMPROVING NADAL

The show continues

While the stilt walkers and balloon sculptors wow the crowds around the grounds, the festivities continue on Court Philippe-Chatrier with a musical spectacular.

Let’s hear it for Yannick

The 1983 Roland-Garros champion and French Davis Cup captain is a national treasure and last year the annual Roland-Garros kids' day was named in his honour. 

From his Cameroonian roots to his influence on tennis and beyond, find out more about the man and the player.

Rafa ‘feeling better all the time’

Fourteen-time champion Rafael Nadal came into press around 13:00 and there was a lot to be positive about for the Spaniard’s many fans.

Nadal acknowledged that drawing Alexander Zverev in round one is one of the toughest possible matches to get here, but that since returning to the tour in Barcelona in mid-April he is feeling healthier all the time.

“Physically I feel better,” said Nadal, who will play the German world No.4 on Monday. “I am improving in different ways. I have less limitations that three, four weeks ago, without a doubt.”

The 22-time major winner was asked whether this would definitely be his last Roland-Garros and his response might have raised a few eyebrows.

“As I said, it's a big, big chance that it’s going to be my last Roland Garros, but if I have to tell you it's 100 percent my last Roland Garros, sorry, but I will not, because I cannot predict what's going on. I hope you understand.”

You’ll be able to read Chris Oddo’s full analysis of the great man’s meeting with the world’s journalists a little later this afternoon.

Badosa facing 'good friend'

Spain’s Paula Badosa has been another player through the media area today and spoke about her first round opponent Katie Boulter, the British 26th seed.

The Spanish former world No.2 has been managing a back injury for some time and said Boulter was one of the players who would text to ask about her progress.

“When I was injured, she was checking on me. Of course I think a long time ago she had a similar injury. So we are good friends. She's a nice person. Really happy how she started the year.

“I think she's playing very well. She's a dangerous player. Really aggressive. So it's going to be a tough match.”

Fans enjoying the stars and the sunshine

Brazil’s Beatrice Haddad Maia delighted young fans on Court 14, taking time to chat after her practice session with Sloane Stephens. 

Find out more about what's going on for Yannick Noah Day.

>> YANNICK NOAH DAY: PLENTY TO SEE AND DO

Osaka: Clay is fun

Naomi Osaka is one of the first players into media on Saturday and could play top seed Iga Swiatek in the second round if she can get past Italian Lucia Bronzetti in the first match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday.

“I think I have made a significant amount of progress, and I feel like people can kind of see that throughout the tournaments that I have played, but I feel like I have dedicated a lot of time to learning about clay,” said the four-time major winner.

“I think clay is fun. You get to slide around. You get to see how strong you are, in and out of corners. I think for me there is a lot of really valuable lessons that I'm learning from clay court tennis.”

Order of Play is out

The match schedules for Day 1 have been released – and what a day it’s going to be. 

Four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka opens proceedings at midday on Court Philippe-Chatrier against Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, followed by No.3 seed Carlos Alcaraz who faces lucky loser J.J. Wolf. 

Home favourite Ugo Humbert gets things under way at 11.00 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen with a first-round match-up against Lorenzo Sonego, while Andrey Rublev starts his campaign on Court Simonne-Mathieu against Japan’s Taro Daniel. 

The night sessions at Roland-Garros are always a magical experience and the first one of 2024 promises a treat. With three Grand Slam titles apiece, two greats of the game – Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray – take to Court Philippe Chatrier to fight for a place in the second round. The action starts at 20.15. 

>> ORDER OF PLAY FOR SUNDAY 26 MAY

What a treat

There was a packed house on Court Suzanne-Lenglen with fans watching Denmark's Holger Rune and 14-time Roland-Garros champion Rafael Nadal as they put in their final preparations before the start of the main draw on Sunday.

It’s all going on!

Yannick Noah Day is well under way and the sun is out. 

The top players are entertaining the crowds, the band is playing, there are balloons, stilt walkers and entertainers as well as a virtual reality experiences including a flight in a hot-air balloon over the Eiffel Tower.

>> YANNICK NOAH DAY: PLENTY TO SEE AND DO

The draws are complete

Men’s and women’s qualifying finished on Friday evening and the qualifiers and lucky losers were placed in both draws last night. Here are some of the first round matches that stand out featuring players that came through qualifying…

Iga Swiatek v (Q) Leolia Jeanjean

Coco Gauff v (Q) Julia Avdeeva 

Caroline Garcia v (Q) Eva Lys

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v (LL) Panna Udvardy 

Anna Schmiedlova v (Q) Sara Errani 

Emma Navarro v (Q) Zeynep Sonmez 

Carlos Alcaraz v (LL) JJ Wolf 

Hubert Hurkacz v (Q) Shintaro Mochizuki 

Frances Tiafoe v (Q) Mattia Bellucci 

Kei Nishikori v (Q) Gabriel Diallo

Miomir Kecmanovic v (Q) Thiago Monteiro

Bonjour!

Welcome to Yannick Noah Day at Roland-Garros 2024 on a quite stunning morning in Paris. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and from 10am local time the courts will be buzzing with players making the most of one last day of practice before the serious stuff starts on Sunday.

We’ll bring you news from those practice sessions, more interviews from a second media day (Rafa Nadal is appearing at 13.30) and OF COURSE Sunday’s order of play when that drops later today.

You can see who’s hitting with who around the grounds today through the link below…

>> SATURDAY PRACTICE SCHEDULE