News

Only Grand Slam rejecting electronic line calling, retaining human judges for clay courts

French Federation maintains position that ball marks on clay prove line accuracy better

Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open all use Hawk-Eye live electronic calling

Roland-Garros only Grand Slam retaining human line judges in 2026

Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open shifted to electronic line calling

French clay courts allow players to challenge calls via visible ball marks

Decision reflects tournament's attachment to human element of officiating

Unique advantage of clay surface preserves traditional challenge method

Mirra Andreeva won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 2026 French Open, defeating Maja Chwalińska in the final at Roland-Garros.

Elena Rybakina claimed her second major title — and first Australian Open — earlier in the year, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the Melbourne final.

The results mean four different women won the last four Grand Slam singles titles, underscoring the depth and unpredictability of the current WTA tour.

Defending Wimbledon women's champion Iga Świątek heads to SW19 as a title contender, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the bookmakers' favourite.

Carlos Alcaraz's wrist injury kept the defending men's French Open champion out of both Roland-Garros and Wimbledon 2026, reshaping both draws.

Zverev defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in the men's final at Roland-Garros.

It was his first major title at his fourth Grand Slam final, ending a run of three runner-up finishes.

He became the first German man to win a Grand Slam singles title since Boris Becker at the 1996 Australian Open.

He was the first player other than Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz to win a Slam since 2023.

Cobolli, ranked No. 10, made his top-10 debut by reaching the final; Alcaraz (wrist) and Sinner (early exit) were both absent or eliminated early.

Andreeva beat qualifier Maja Chwalińska 6-3, 6-2 in straight sets to win the French Open women's singles crown.

At 19, she became the youngest woman to win the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen since Monica Seles in 1992.

She is the fourth Russian woman to win Roland-Garros, following Myskina, Kuznetsova, and Sharapova.

Chwalińska reached the final as a qualifier ranked No. 114, earning a Wimbledon wild card as a result.

No former major winners reached the semifinals on either the men's or women's side at the 2026 French Open.

Andreeva defeated Maja Chwalińska 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets in the women's final at Roland-Garros.

At 19, she became the youngest French Open women's singles champion since Iga Świątek in 2020.

She was the first player born after 2005 to reach a Grand Slam singles final, men's or women's.

Finalist Chwalińska entered as world No. 114, coming through qualifying, and had never previously gone beyond the second round of a major.

Andreeva's win made her the sixth consecutive different player to win a women's Grand Slam title, underscoring the era's parity.

Roland-Garros confirmed it would keep human line judges for 2026, the only Grand Slam not using electronic line calling.

The Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon have all transitioned fully to electronic line-calling systems.

French Open director Amélie Mauresmo cited clay-surface reliability issues, saying the machine is not 100 percent reliable on clay.

A controversial human call during Casper Ruud's fourth-round loss to João Fonseca reignited the debate mid-tournament.

Mauresmo left the door open to ELC review for 2027, saying the federation would reassess after the tournament.

Stan Wawrinka made his 21st and final Roland-Garros appearance, losing in the first round to Jesper de Jong on 25 May.

Tournament organisers held an on-court tribute for Wawrinka, including a video and messages from Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

Gaël Monfils also made his farewell French Open appearance, losing in the first round to Hugo Gaston before his own tribute.

On 21 May, Monfils headlined a 'Gael and Friends' exhibition at Court Philippe-Chatrier with Sinner, Djokovic, Osaka and others.

Proceeds from the exhibition were donated to charitable organisations including the FFT's Terre d'Impact foundation.