Day 7 (Saturday, May 31) of the French Open 2025 has some of the biggest names in the sport taking to the court for their third-round matches. Top 20 players Holger Rune and Tommy Paul narrowly avoided upsets on Friday (May 30), surviving their respective matches in five sets.
However, the tournament has witnessed plenty of upsets right from the start. 17 seeded players from the men’s side and 14 seeded players from the women’s side went out before the third round.
Some more high-profile names could fall prey to their lower-ranked opponents on Saturday. Here’s a look at five top players who could potentially lose their matches on Day 7 of the French Open 2025.
#5. Veronika Kudermetova to pip her higher-ranked compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Russian derby
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Alexandrova skipped the Italian Open due to an injury, though she appears to have recovered quite well. She reached the semifinals in Charleston, Stuttgart, and the fourth round in Madrid prior to that. Kudermetova advanced to the third round in Madrid and Rome, and lost in the doubles finals at both tournaments as well.
The two have a fierce rivalry, which is currently deadlocked at 3-3. Kudermetova won their most recent encounter earlier this year in Dubai in three sets. She also won their only match on clay, though it was in 2019. She already upset 15th seed Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round. She certainly has the game to one-up Alexandrova as well.
#4. Joao Fonseca to crash Jack Draper's clay renaissance in Paris
Clay was considered as Draper's weakest surface until last year. He disproved that notion with his results on the red dirt this year. He reached the final of the Madrid Open and the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, losing to Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz respectively. He needed four sets to beat Mattia Bellucci and Gael Monfils at the French Open.
Fonseca has been the breakout star of 2025. The teenager has taken the world by storm with his shotmaking. He knocked out 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the first round here and beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second round, both in straight sets. While he lost to Draper in their first career meeting at Indian Wells earlier this year, he will fancy his chances on clay.
Despite his youthful demeanor, Fonseca has shown maturity beyond his years. He previously upset ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open at the start of the year. It wouldn't be too surprising to see him outplay the fifth-seeded Draper in Paris.
#3. Sofia Kenin sneaks past Madison Keys in a battle between Australian Open champions
Keys dropped a total of seven games across her wins over Daria Saville and Katie Boulter to reach the third round of the French Open. She's on a nine-match winning streak at the Majors in light of her Australian Open triumph. After a comfortable win over Varvara Gracheva in her opener, Kenin needed two competitive sets to defeat Victoria Azarenka.
While Keys leads their head-to-head 3-1, Kenin won their only meeting on clay at the Italian Open 2019. The latter is also a former runner-up at the clay court Major, going down to Iga Swiatek in the 2020 summit clash.
Keys has been the more in-form player this year compared to Kenin. However, writing off the latter isn't wise as she can channel the form that put her on the map following her Australian Open triumph half a decade ago to beat the reigning Melbourne champ.
#2. Alexander Zverev's French Open campaign comes to an end at the hands of Flavio Cobolli
Zverev went down to Alcaraz in last year's French Open final. He has reached at least the fourth round in Paris since 2018. However, he faces the prospect of an early exit this time. While he won an ATP 500 title on clay this year, he didn't make an impact at any of the Masters 1000 tournaments.
Cobolli has won a couple of titles on clay this year, including one just before the start of the clay court Major. He's currently on a seven-match winning streak. The young Italian is due for a proper breakthrough against a quality opponent and since Zverev seems more vulnerable in recent weeks, he could be responsible for his exit.
#1. Marketa Vondrousova ousts Jessica Pegula from the French Open
The French Open is Vondrousova's first tournament in three months. She has shown no signs of rust so far, reaching the third round with wins over Oksana Selekhmeteva and 25th seed Magdalena Frech. Third seed Pegula defeated Anca Todoni and Ann Li in straight sets to make the third round.
Vondrousova was the runner-up in Paris in 2019 and made the quarterfinals last year, while Pegula has reached the fourth round just once, en route to the last eight in 2022. They two have only met once prior to this, at Wimbledon 2023.
Vondrousova won that match despite Pegula leading 4-1 in the third set and went on to win the title as well. The former has the potential to eliminate the latter from a Major once again, especially in light of the American's lukewarm results in recent weeks and poor record in Paris.
