Zheng Qinwen drawn into same section as Sabalenka at French Open

China's eighth-seeded Zheng Qinwen will begin her French Open journey in the same section as World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, according to the draw released on Thursday.

Zheng's opponent in the first round will be Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. If China's reigning Olympic gold medalist progresses, the first seeded opponent she might face could be either No. 28 Peyton Stearns of the USA or No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia. If both she and Sabalenka continue to win, they would meet in the quarterfinals.

The 22-year-old Zheng just ended her six-match losing streak against the Belarusian last week at the Italian Open.

Another two Chinese players, Yuan Yue and Wang Xinyu, are both set to face tough challenges early in the competition.

Yuan will take on fourth-seeded Jasmine Paolini, who is coming off a historic home triumph at the Italian Open. Wang goes up against former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain. If she wins, she will clash with Polish defending champion Iga Swiatek or 41st-ranked Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova in the second round.

On the men's side, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain will open his title defense against Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori. Alcaraz has been the sport's most dominant player in the weeks leading up to the French Open, and is the clear-cut favorite after claiming trophies in Barcelona and Rome.

The 22-year-old holds a 15-1 record on clay this season, and after moving back to second in the rankings, he can't meet top-ranked Jannik Sinner of Italy before the final because they are on opposite sides of the draw.

"It's been a great clay season so far," Alcaraz said. "I'm excited. The confidence is really high right now."

Back from a three-month doping suspension, Sinner pushed Alcaraz when they met in last weekend's Italian Open final, but lost in straight sets. The World No. 1 opens against local hope Arthur Rinderknech, and could face three-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

Alcaraz beat Sinner in five sets in last season's French Open semifinals. The Spaniard followed up his title triumph in Paris by successfully defending his Wimbledon title for a fourth Grand Slam trophy overall.

Sinner has won just one of his 19 career titles on clay – in Umag, Croatia, in 2022 – when he beat Alcaraz in the final.

Djokovic, who finally won a match on clay this year at the Geneva Open on Wednesday, will face Mackenzie McDonald of the USA in the first round. The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion won men's singles gold at the Paris Summer Olympics last August at Roland-Garros, but has struggled on clay since then.

Sinner could run into fifth seed Jack Draper of Britain in the quarterfinals, with other possible matchups featuring Alexander Zverev (3) vs. Djokovic (6), Taylor Fritz (4) vs. Lorenzo Musetti (8), and Alcaraz vs. Casper Ruud (7).

(With input from the Associated Press)