Day 2 of Roland-Garros 2026 delivered striking contrasts between the serene progress of the favorites and the spectacular fall of a major seed.
Iga Swiatek, four-time champion and third seed, dispatched Australia's Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour. The Pole struck 17 winners to her opponent's five, extending her Grand Slam first-round record to an impressive 28-1. "I'm really happy with the way I played, it was solid from beginning to end," she said.
Second seed Elena Rybakina enjoyed a similarly comfortable outing, beating Veronika Erjavec 6-2, 6-2 in 75 minutes. The Kazakh won 84% of points on her first serve and saved all four break points she faced.
The biggest shock came from qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who stunned fifth seed Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 6-0. The Olympic champion had no answer after a tight first set, losing eight consecutive games in a humbling first-round exit.
Rome champion needed 2 hours and 26 minutes to see off Anna Bondar 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(10-3). Broken while serving for the match at 5-3 in the third, the Ukrainian ultimately controlled the deciding tiebreak to reach the second round for a record 13th consecutive year.
also advanced, coming from 3-5 down in the first set to defeat Dayana Yastremska 7-5, 6-3.
On the men's side, emotion took center stage as bid farewell to Paris. The 2015 champion fell to Jesper de Jong 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, ending 21 years and 46 main-draw victories at Roland-Garros. Video messages from Federer, Nadal and Djokovic crowned a moving ceremony. Roberto Bautista Agut also bowed out, losing to Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
The evening session promises another emotional moment as plays his final Roland-Garros match against on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
