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The main draw of the 2024 French Open is finally complete after the last matches of the qualifying round concluded on May 24. During the qualifying stage of the clay slam, several striking storylines caught the eye of the tennis world.
Many high-profile names tried to make it into Roland Garros' main draw via the qualifying round. This list included former singles finalists Sara Errani and Dominic Thiem, French veterans Benoit Paire and Lucas Pouille, American talent Alycia Parks, and reigning ATP NextGen champion Hamad Medjedovic.
However, only 32 out of 256 players could navigate the qualifying stage, and the intense competition made for many exciting plots for fans to follow. With that said, let's take a look at the top 5 storylines for the qualifying round of the 2024 French Open:
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#5 Only two French players make it through qualifying stage
The 2024 French Open qualifying stage featured 40 homegrown players. Twenty-eight were in the men's singles draw, while 12 were in the women's singles category. Benoit Paire, Lucas Pouille, and Harmony Tan headlined the French contingent.
However, the home players did not have a happy showing, as only two, Gregoire Barrere and Leolia Jeanjean, made it past the qualifier culling. Now, in the first round of the main draw, Barrere will face No. 19 seed Alexander Bublik, while Jeanjean will be up against top seed Iga Swiatek.
#4 First Turkish player in French Open main draw since 2017
History will be created when Zeynep Sonmez plays her first-round match at the 2024 Roland Garros against No. 22 seed Emma Navarro. Sonmez became the first player from Turkey to qualify for the main draw at the clay slam in seven years. Çağla Büyükakçay and İpek Soylu featured in the women's singles draw of the 2017 Roland Garros.
Sonmez ended the Turkish drought in Paris after beating Dejana Radanović, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and Jana Fett in her three qualifying matches. This will be the 22-year-old's Grand Slam main draw debut.
#3 Largest Brazilian contingent at French Open since 1988
Brazil is about to have its largest contingent at the Roland Garros since 1988, as six players from the South American nation have confirmed their berth in the main draw. Two, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Thiago Seyboth Wild, were granted direct entry. Four others- Felipe Meligeni Alves, Thiago Monteiro, Gustavo Heide, and Laura Pigossi, made it out of the qualifying rounds.
Monteiro was the highest-seeded male player to have a successful qualifying campaign; meanwhile, Pigossi did not drop even a single set en route to her qualification. Haddad Maia is the highest-ranked and seeded (13) Brazilian in either of the draws.
#2 Rafael Nadal Academy stars fail to qualify
The qualifying rounds were not fruitful for all the notable players from the Rafael Nadal Academy. The best-known among them, Alex Eala, lost in the final qualifying round against Julia Reira after beating YeXin Ma and Taylah Preston earlier.
Eala, who became the first Filipino to win a junior Grand Slam singles championship at the 2023 US Open juniors, is yet to make her Grand Slam debut at the pro level. Other Rafa Nadal Academy stars, Coleman Wong of Hong Kong and Daniel Rincon of Spain, fell in the first and third qualifying rounds, respectively.
#1 Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman's Roland Garros swansong
Perhaps the biggest storyline at this year's Roland Garros at large was the final campaign of Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman. Both players had already announced that the upcoming event would be their final outing. Thiem is a former finalist, while Schwartzman is a former semifinalist in Paris.
Despite their history at the tournament, the duo was not granted main-draw wildcards. They had to go through qualifying stages where No. 11 seed Thiem bettered Franco Agamenone, and No. 29 seed Schwartzman defeated Lukas Neumayer in the first round.
The decorated pair was ousted in the second round by Otto Virtanen and Quentin Halys, respectively, thus bringing about the end to their journey at the French Open.
