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<\/p>\nThe 2026 French Open is underway, with the first round officially ending on Tuesday after three days of competition. The first round of a major is always a toss up as fan favorites and top players can be shockingly upset, while Cinderella stories can be born.<\/p>\n
There were plenty of surprising results, but six big upsets that happened in the first round at Roland-Garros, with two of the top-ranked American stars suffering losses. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a round-up of the biggest losses in the first round, and how these players now being eliminated from the French Open impacts the rest of the field.<\/p>\n
Jessica Pegula<\/p>\n
American Jessica Pegula, who was the fifth-ranked player in the tournament, surprisingly lost in the first round to the unranked Australian Kimberly Birrell in three sets. Pegula came out charging and won the first set 6\u20131, but lost the next two 6\u20133 each to Birrell.<\/p>\n
The French Open\u2019s always been a tough major tournament for Pegula as she\u2019s only reached the quarterfinals once in her career. But, she hadn\u2019t suffered a first-round exit in Paris since 2020. It would\u2019ve been a tough journey for Pegula to advance past the quarterfinals this year as she was in world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka\u2019s quarter. Sabalenka is the clear frontrunner to win her quarter.<\/p>\n
Birrell will go on to face Oleksandra Oliynykova in the second round, while Pegula will shift her focus to grass season.<\/p>\n
Taylor Fritz<\/p>\n
Taylor Fritz suffered one of the biggest early upsets of the French Open against fellow American Nishesh Basavareddy. | Susan Mullane-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
American Taylor Fritz\u2019s upset in the first round was one of the most shocking in the tournament, if not the most. Fritz, ranked seventh, faced fellow American Nishesh Basavareddy, who was competing in his first ever French Open match. It\u2019s rare to win your debut match in a tournament, especially against one of the top ranked players in the world. <\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t an easy win for Basavareddy as the first three sets all finished in a tiebreak, with Fritz winning the third set to hold onto hope for a comeback victory. In the end, though, Basavareddy held off Fritz and won 7\u20136, 7\u20136, 6\u20137, 6\u20131. This marked the second year in a row in which Fritz suffered first-round exits in Paris. Fritz had only played in one match in the last two months ahead of the French Open as he\u2019s dealt with knee tendinitis that\u2019s kept him sidelined.<\/p>\n
USA’s Nishesh Basavareddy UPSETS fellow American No. 7 Taylor Fritz \ud83e\udd2f\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n
Fritz was the second highest ranked American coming into to Roland-Garros \ud83d\ude31 pic.twitter.com\/IxRtJNmuFt<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Basavareddy will compete in another all-American match as he\u2019ll face Alex Michelsen in the second round. He sits in No. 2 Alexander Zverev\u2019s quarter.<\/p>\n Daniil Medvedev<\/p>\n The former world no. 1 Daniil Medvedev played a thrilling back-and-forth match against wild-card Adam Walton on Tuesday, but ultimately lost 6\u20132, 1\u20136, 6\u20131, 1\u20136, 6\u20134. The match took three-and-a-half hours.<\/p>\n Medvedev was seen as one of the challengers to possibly take down No. 1 Jannik Sinner<\/a>. However, like Fritz, this marked the second year in a row in which the sixth-ranked Medvedev suffered a first-round exit, and it\u2019s his third in four years in Paris. He\u2019s lost in the first round seven times. Medvedev is fully aware of his bad luck at Roland-Garros: \u201cI know why I don’t really play my best in Roland-Garros, but if I say it, it’s [making] excuses. So I keep it to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n The young Australian Walton will go on to face American Zachary Svajda in the second round. They sit in F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime\u2019s quarter, another player who nearly lost in his five-set first round match.<\/p>\n WERTHEIM:\u00a02026 Roland Garros Men\u2019s Seed Report: Jannik Sinner vs. the Field<\/a>Zheng Qinwen<\/p>\n No. 5 player Zheng Qinwen from China suffered a rough first-round loss to Maja Chwali\u0144ska. Zheng dealt with foot blisters in the second set from the blistering heat in Paris. Chwali\u0144ska won 6\u20134, 6\u20130 over last year\u2019s quarterfinalist. Zheng notably won the Olympic gold medal at Roland-Garros during the 2024 Paris Olympics, so it\u2019s always a special place for her. Losing in the first round was definitely not what Zheng expected.<\/p>\n Zheng was emotional in her post-match press conference as she explained that the first-round loss was \u201c\u201creally, really tough for [her].\u201d <\/p>\n Chwali\u0144ska will go on to face No. 23 Elise Mertens in the second round. They sit in the reigning champion Coco Gauff\u2019s quarter, who will be difficult to advance past.<\/p>\n WERTHEIM: 2026 Roland Garros Women\u2019s Seed Report: Aryna Sabalenka Is the Favorite in an Open Field<\/a>Alexander Bublik<\/p>\n Alexander Bublik, who is ranked ninth at the tournament, also lost in a close four-set match to 36-year-old German Jan-Lennard Struff after winning the first set originally\u20145\u20137, 7\u20136, 4\u20136, 5\u20137. With the loss, Bublik is expected to drop out of the top-10 ATP rankings.<\/p>\n It would\u2019ve been a tough journey for Bublik to advance past the quarterfinals, where he finished last year, as he sat in world no. 1 and clear favorite Jannik Sinner\u2019s quarter. Last year was the one and only time that Bublik won past the second round\u2014clay season is not his best.<\/p>\n Struff will go on to face Jaime Faria in the second round. <\/p>\n Stan Wawrinka<\/p>\n Stan Wawrinka entered this year\u2019s French Open knowing it would be his last as he plans to retire from tennis at the end of the season. Wawrinka won the Roland-Garros title in 2015 and was a finalist in \u201817.<\/p>\n His first-round loss wasn\u2019t a typical upset in the sense that he was ranked higher than his opponent Jesper de Jong, it was more so an upset for tennis fans as many hoped Wawrinka would post a good run in his final French Open appearance. Unfortunately, de Jong appeared to be too tough of an opponent for the 41-year-old Swiss player, winning 6\u20133, 3\u20136, 6\u20133, 6\u20134.<\/p>\n It was an emotional end for the beloved French Open star.<\/p>\n Stan Wawrinka shows his love for the fans after his final match at Roland-Garros \ud83e\udde1 pic.twitter.com\/DjqLr52Ni6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 TNT Sports (@tntsports) May 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n De Jong will face Federico Cina in the second round. They sit in No. 2 Zverev\u2019s quarter.<\/p>\n More from Sports Illustrated![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
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