The surprise from Italian-speaking Switzerland! 12 attempts, the 13th is the right one!

What beautiful images when she won her pass for her first main draw in a Slam! She couldn’t believe it! Susan Bandecchi, 27 years old, WTA 215, coached by Francesca Schiavone, is playing her very first Grand Slam main draw after twelve unsuccessful attempts in qualifying. She earned this ticket the hard way this week: a three-set win over Paquet saving two match points, then another three-set win over Salkova saving two more match points, before a quick 6–1 6–2 against Hruncakova. Schiavone, the last woman to win Roland-Garros with a one-handed backhand, has passed on to her a point-construction game based on variety and angles. She comes in relaxed, with no pressure, with genuine match rhythm and 2026 clay indicators that clearly dominate her opponent of the day: Match Efficiency 1.723, Breakpoints Prevail 1.579, 74.3% of service games won, 60.4% of break points saved.

Cristina Bucșa, 28 years old, WTA 30, coached by her father Ion, is Spain’s number 1 and the surprise of this draw. Her WTA title in Mérida in February was on hard courts. On clay, the reality is brutal: 10–24 in her WTA career, 0–4 in 2026 on this surface, five losses in a row at the moment. Match Efficiency at 0.000 on clay this season. In Strasbourg last week, she had match points against Zhang and lost in three sets, confirming a mentally fragile profile in key moments on this surface. 35.7% of break points saved, 34.2% conversion. She creates chances but doesn’t finish them, and gets broken all the time.