The second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, was supposed to have started this past week. With global events, though, shaking up the calendar, the players are still at home instead of sliding across the clay courts at Roland Garros.
For some of them, their recent results before the stoppage would have lifted them into the dark-horse category. Here’s a look at five players that could have made a somewhat-surprising run in 2020.
1
Coco Gauff
One of the youngest girls’ Grand Slam winners in history at the 2018 French Open, Gauff soon started making an impact on the senior tour. After winning her first title and reaching the second week of Wimbledon last year, the youngest player in the WTA top 100 was ready to build upon those results in 2020, evidenced by her fourth-round showing in Melbourne. The American fell in the second round of qualifying 12 months ago in Paris, but with a main draw showing guaranteed this year, a strong finish was surely in the cards.
2
Cristian Garin