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Interested in watching the French Open wheelchair events in 2023? Check out the key information right here.
French Open Wheelchair 2023 Events – Quick Rundown
Contents
The French Open is one of the four Grand Slams held each year. And while this tournament obviously gains plenty of recognition for the singles and doubles events, there are others being played over this two-week period. Specifically, the French Open wheelchair events are some that tennis fans tend to overlook. That’s not because wheelchair tennis isn’t entertaining – it’s simply because the singles and doubles tournaments sometimes steal all the attention.
With that in mind, if you are seeking some details on the wheelchair tournaments for the 2023 Roland Garros, you’ve come to the right spot. Below, we shall discuss the event formats, and the structure of the matches, and we’ll also give you detailed previews and reviews of all the action.
Photo by Icon Sport
The different French Open wheelchair tournaments
The actual format for each of the individual wheelchair events is different from one another. This can be due to the draw size, the format of the matches, and more. However, rather than give you an overview to work with, the best option is to break down each event and discuss the key details. That’s precisely what we’ve done through each of the events listed below:
Men’s Singles
Starting with the men’s singles, the size of the draw is 16. This means that 16 players will compete for a chance to win the tournament. Matches are played as the best of three sets, and the ball is allowed to bounce twice. This rule remains consistent for all of the French Open wheelchair events, not just men’s singles. Note that the third set is a full third set, with a match tie-break to decide the match if required.
Semifinals Review
The French Open Men’s Wheelchair Singles semifinals produced no surprises and the top 2 seeds progressed to the title match without dropping a set. The Brit and world number 1 Alfie Hewett showed his huge dominance this season with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win vs the 3rd seed Fernandez. Hewett started both sets fast and never looked back in what was another very strong display from him as he is trying to follow up his January Australian Open title with a French Open one.
In the other semifinal, the world number 2 Oda evaded a third set against the dangerous De Le Puente. Oda won 6-2, 7-6 (6) after saving 3 set points in set 2.
Final Preview
The title match between the 2 best players in the world promises to be exciting. The 1st seed Hewett has won 4 of the last 6 H2Hs but on clay, Oda holds a 3-2 lead when these have met. All this suggests that a close battle can be expected.
Still, taking into account Hewett’s excellent form so far this season we back the Brit to win the second Grand Slam of the year too, just as he triumphed in Melbourne a few months ago.
Women’s Singles
In an exact mirror image of the men’s singles, the women’s singles consist of 16 players too. The women also play following a best-of-three set format, which is different from the men’s and women’s singles events for the main tournament. Once again, a tie-break will decide the match if it goes to 6-6 in the final set, which doesn’t happen all that often. And since this is a 16-player draw, an individual must win four matches in a row to win the championships.
Semifinals Review
The semifinals of the French Open Women’s Wheelchair Singles produced no surprises and the top 2 seeds progressed to the final game of the competition in what were 2 Dutch-Japan battles.
The world number 1 De Groot beat the 4th seed Ohtani 6-3, 6-2 in less than 50 minutes. The world number 2 Kamiji matched that with her identical 6-3, 6-2 win against the 3rd seed Dutch lady Griffioen. Both winners dominated from the baseline and so far De Groot and Kamiji had been hugely commanding in their displays.
Final Preview
The final of the French Open Women’s Wheelchair Singles will see the top 2 women in the world face each other in a bid to lift the Roland Garros title. The match promises to be exciting and close with De Groot having a 7-3 edge in the H2Hs. However, Kamiji dropped just 7 games in the 4 sets she won so far and her ball striking at Roland Garros had been excellent. With that in mind, we go for a small surprise here and back the Japanese to win against the world number 1 De Groot.
Men’s / Women’s Doubles
We’ve put this under one category as the format is exactly the same for both men’s and women’s doubles competitions. These matches are also played as the best of three sets, only the third set is a championship tie-break instead of a full set. This is actually fairly common in doubles, and for those who don’t know, a championship tie-break is played to 10 points instead of 7. As for the draw size, a total of 8 teams will compete in both events. This makes a total of 16 players.
Quarterfinals Review
The quarterfinals of the French Open Wheelchair Doubles events produced no major upsets. Here’s what happened.
On the Men’s side of the event the world number 1 Brits Hewett/Reid needed to show composure to win 6-2, 7-5. The other seeded pair De La Puente/Fernandez also had issues closing down their match in set 2 but that was with the help of a tiebreak. In the other 2 matches, the players favoured to win did so.
On the women’s side of the event, all 4 favoured pairs progressed. The most exciting match saw the all-French duo Deroulede/Morch come from a set down to win the decider 10-5.
Semifinals Preview
The semifnals of the French Open Wheelchair Doubles events could prove to be much more interesting. The number 2 seed De La Puente/Fernadez have a relatively easy matchup against an inexperienced pair. However, the other semifinal might test the world number 1 Hewett/Reid as they take on Oda/Gerard, who are unseeded as a new partnership but both top 4 players in singles. We think this match might cause an upset if Hewett and Reid are not at their best.
On the women’s side of the event, the unseeded world number 1 in singles De Groot (she entered this competition with a new partner) and her new partner Moreno are expected to dominate against the 2nd seed Tanaka/Zhu. We think the unseeded pair from this matchup will win. In the other semifinal, the world number 1 Kamiji/Montjane should easily eliminate the all-French wildcard pair Deroulede/Morch.
Quad Singles
Although the previous competitions have all been standard wheelchair events, a different tournament known as ‘quads’ is also played at the French Open. These are events reserved for players who have a disability relating to one of the upper limbs, not just the lower body. Given the additional restriction, it makes sense to have a separate tournament where those suffering from such a disability can compete against one another.
Despite the physical restrictions, however, quad singles are played in the same format as regular singles. And the draw size consists of 8 players rather than 16.
Semifinals Review
The semifnals of the French Open Wheelchair Quad Singles saw the top 2 seeded Dutch players Vink and Schroder cruise to the match for the title without any problems. Schroeder did that in an impressive style as he beat the American Wagner 6-0, 6-0. Vink had to work a bit harder for his 6-4, 6-2 win vs Sugeno.
Final Preview
The final of the French Open Wheelchair Quad Singles see the favourites Vink (world number 1) and Schroder (world number 2) face each other again. Training partners the two Dutchmen know each other very well. As Vink has won 3 of the last 4 H2Hs we give him the edge in this one again.
Quad Doubles
As you’ve no doubt guessed at this point, quad doubles follow the same match format mentioned earlier. To quickly remind you, this means each game is played as the best of three sets. Yet if the match goes to a deciding set, the players compete in a championship tie-break to 10 points. The draw size for this event is also 8 players, meaning that there are just 4 pairs involved.
Round 1 Preview
The semifinals of the quads’ doubles are not likely to produce surprises and the 2 seeded pairs Vink/Schroder and Davidson/Shaw should be able to progress to the match for the title.
French Open wheelchair events FAQs
Who is the most successful player in wheelchair singles events?
Looking back over the last 20 years, the retired now Japanese player, Shingo Kunieda has been the most successful player.
Photo by Icon Sport
Who are the favourites to win the singles/doubles events at the 2023 French Open?
For both the women’s singles and doubles, Diede De Groot is the definite favourite. As for the men, the Brit Alfie Hewett is the favourite once again. Also, the all-British duo Alfie Hewitt and Gordon Reid are favourites for the doubles. The quads are usually dominated by the Dutch duo Vink-Schroder.
Can I wager on wheelchair tennis for the French Open?
Yes, certain bookmakers in the UK do allow you to bet on wheelchair tennis.
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