French Open 2024 draw: When and where to follow

The season's second Grand Slam, the French Open, begins in less than a week. The qualifying rounds will take place from May 20-24, while the main draw action will begin on May 26 and conclude on June 9. Fans are eagerly awaiting to know the fate of their favorite players and who they will have to brush aside en route the title.

All of this will be known once the draw is revealed. The draw ceremony for this year's French Open will be on Thursday, May 23, at 2 pm local time. The ceremony was broadcast live on the tournament's YouTube channel last year, and they're likely to keep it that way this year as well.

The men's and women's singles draw consists of 128 players each. Novak Djokovic leads the men's draw as the top seed. His reign at the top of the rankings is under threat as Jannik Sinner could dethrone him as the World No. 1 at the end of the tournament.

Iga Swiatek is the top seed on the women's side and is followed by Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff as the second and third seeds respectively. The Pole is gunning for her fourth title in Paris, which would be a fifth Major title overall.

Swiatek is eyeing to complete a clean sweep of the big titles on clay, having won the Madrid Open and the Italian Open in recent weeks. Serena Williams was the last player to win all three significant clay titles, achieving the feat in 2013.

However, there's an even bigger storyline in play, as it could mark Rafael Nadal's possibly final appearance at the French Open. The Spaniard has been the most dominant player in the history of the tournament, with a mind-boggling 112-3 record and 14 titles.

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Rafael Nadal won't be the outright favorite to win the French Open for the first time in his career

Rafael Nadal at the 2022 French Open.

Rafael Nadal has handled plenty of injury setbacks over the course of his glittering career. Regardless of his form or health, he was always the leading title contender at the French Open. The King of Clay has established his surpemacy in Paris after winning 14 titles from 18 appearances.

However, that's not the case this time. Nadal's comeback this year has been quite a ride, with a fourth-round showing at the Madrid Open being his best result. He lost to Hubert Hurkacz 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of the Italian Open, his most recent tournament. The Spaniard's overall record for the season is 7-4.

Nadal has proven time and time again that it's unwise to count him out, though. He's a different beast at the French Open, and after all his recent struggles, a title would be the perfect fairytale ending for him.