Tough start on clay for our Frenchwoman

Elsa Jacquemot, 23 years old, WTA No. 63, a right-hander from Lyon recently coached by Philippe Dehaes, is the most anticipated French player of this second round. Junior world champion here in 2020, knocked out by Boisson in 2025, she returns to Porte d’Auteuil with the crowd behind her and French hopes on her shoulders. But the reality of her 2026 season is worrying. Five consecutive losses, most recently a three-set defeat to Zakharova in Strasbourg, and a WTA clay record that’s brutally modest: 4–13 in her career, 2–4 over the last 52 weeks at main-draw level. Her 2026 clay indicators are the worst in this thread: Match Efficiency at 0.000, zero tiebreaks won, 24.5% of return games won. She does not win on clay at WTA level, and it shows in every single number.

Linda Fruhvirtová, 21 years old, coached by Patrick Mouratoglou, big sister in a tennis family where both daughters are protégées of the same academy, returns to Paris for the first time in a main draw in three years. Her best ranking was No. 49 in 2023, but a difficult stretch had pushed her far outside the top 100. Qualifying here was emotional, as she herself said: the first time she’s won three matches in a row on clay since Rouen in April 2025. Three qualifying rounds in the extreme heat of week one, including a win over Tan on Lenglen in front of a hostile crowd. She comes in with rhythm and rebuilt confidence. On clay, her WTA career stats are also modest at 6–14, but her 2026 clay indicators tell a completely different story: Match Efficiency 1.129, 44% of return games won, 52.9% of break points converted, absolute domination on pressure points on return.