5 unseeded players who have won the French Open ft. Mats Wilander & Barbora Krejcikova
The French Open has seen quite a few left-field champions emerge over the years. On the men's side, Rafael Nadal's dominance at the venue, along with Novak Djokovic's consistency, has seen the the duo claim 16 of the last 18 titles.
There have, however, been plenty of surprise winners on the women's side. No woman has defended her title at the French Open since Justine Henin last did it in 2007. Serena Williams came close to doing so in 2016, but lost to Garbine Muguruza in the final.
Iga Swiatek is now on the cusp of a successful title defense, but Karolina Muchova stands in the way. The Czech saved a match point during her semifinal win over World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.
If Muchova manages to score an upset win over Swiatek in Saturday's final, she'll emerge as yet another unseeded player to hoist the trophy in Paris. On that note, here's a look at five unseeded players who have won the French Open in the past:
#1 Mats Wilander
Four-time defending champion Bjorn Borg had established his supremacy at the French Open, but didn't participate in the 1982 edition. Instead, another Swede went on to claim the title in his place.
Mats Wilander had won the boys' singles title at the 1981 French Open and made his debut as a pro the following year. As an unseeded player, he stunned second seed Ivan Lendl in the fourth round. He defeated Guillermo Vilas in the final to win his maiden Grand Slam title, stunning the tennis world with his rapid rise to the top.
Wilander almost defended his title the following year, but lost to Yannick Noah in the final. He did win another couple of titles in Paris after that, emerging victorious in 1985 and 1988.
#2 Jelena Ostapenko
At the start of the 2017 edition, no one had eyes on Jelena Ostapenko. But as the tournament progressed, the world took notice of her fearless and hard-hitting brand of tennis. She made it to the final by knocking out some established names, including Samantha Stosur and Caroline Wozniacki, in three sets.
Ostapenko faced title favorite Simona Halep in the final. The Latvian lost the first set and trailed 3-0 in the second, but stormed back to win her maiden Major crown. She became the first unseeded player to win a Grand Slam title since Kim Clijsters at the 2009 US Open.
#3 Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten was fresh off a Challenger title in the lead-up to the 1997 French Open. No one would've imagined him going all the way in Paris that year. But the Brazilian did just that, becoming the first unseeded player to win the French Open since Mats Wilander in 1982.
Kuerten knocked out former Roland Garros winners en route to the title, scoring wins over Thomas Muster, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Sergi Bruguera. He would go on to win the tournament two more times after that, in 2000 and 2001.
#4 Barbora Krejcikova
Barbora Krejcikova was already an established doubles player, but success in singles had proved to be elusive earlier on. It all started to change in 2021. Even then, she wasn't on the radar as a favorite to win Roland Garros that year.
But the top players kept crashing out as Krejcikova made her way through the draw. She saved a match point during her semifinal victory over Maria Sakkari. The Czech then defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets to capture her first Grand Slam title in singles.
Krejcikova also bagged the doubles title with Katerina Siniakova. She became the first player to achieve this at a Major since Serena Williams at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.
#5 Gaston Gaudio
Gaston Gaudio had moderate success from the beginning of his pro career until 2003. The 2004 season started on a similar note, but the clay swing proved to be the turning point. The Argentine reached his first final in almost two years at the Barcelona Open before losing to Tommy Robredo.
Gaudio was unseeded at the French Open, but was playing at a high level. He knocked out Lleyton Hewitt in the quarterfinals and then defeated compatriot David Nalbandian in the semifinals. He faced fellow Argentine Guillermo Coria for the title, with both players contesting their first Grand Slam final.
Coria quickly nabbed the first two sets and led 4-4, 40-0 in the third set. Gaudio fought back to win the set and then saved two championship points in the deciding set in a remarkable turnaround to claim his first Grand Slam title.
Gaudio became the first player in the Open Era to win a Major after saving match points in the final. He also cracked the top 10 of the ATP rankings following his win. His 2004 triumph in Paris would remain his only Grand Slam title as well as the only time when he made it past the quarterfinals of a Major.