The wait is over! The 2025 French Open officially began today, May 25, at Roland Garros with a star-studded draw. Many players showed their skills, but harsh weather quickly made its mark. American hopefuls Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and Tommy Paul, among others, are ready to face their fate. But will the rain slow them down?

Persistent rain forced a halt to play on Day 7 at Roland-Garros, ending Sunday’s first-round action early. Tennis journalist Jose Morgado tweeted, “No play on the outside courts before 2.30pm. And it won’t happen. It’s raining a lot.” Weather reports from Paris suggest the rain won’t stop anytime soon. According to the BBC, there will be light rain showers and a moderate breeze to be expected till 6pm UTC  today.

Earlier, Tommy Paul’s match against Elmer Moller paused after the second set due to light showers on Court Simonne-Mathieu. Reilly Opelka and Rinky Hijikata faced a similar delay on Court 7. Matches between the 2019 French Open semifinalist Amanda Anisimova vs. Nina Stojanovic, rising star Alex Michelsen vs. Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and Jenson Brooksby vs. Jaime Faria will see minor delays as they will be playing on the outdoor courts.

On the bright side, some matches at Court Philippe Chatrier remain unaffected. These include Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Qinwen Zheng on the WTA side, and on the ATP side, Lorenzo Musetti vs. Yannick Hanfmann and Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Sonego will continue as planned.

It’s yet to be seen if the weather will persist or will the day go on as planned. However, rain delays have been part of French Open history for years! It’s almost a tradition now. Last year was a bit more chaotic due to it.

Players faced a rough time with rain delays at the 2024 French Open

Back when Rafael Nadal was steamrolling the French Open year after year, a sunny Paris forecast spelled disaster for everyone else. Competing with Nadal was tough enough, but in hot, dry weather—where the ball bounced higher and flew faster—others might as well have thrown in the towel. Weather always plays a huge role at Roland Garros, especially since clay matches often continue through light rain, making conditions tricky.

Last year, though, Paris served up cold and wet instead of sunshine. Rain soaked the courts and dragged down players’ energy and moods. Tuesday felt like a soggy summer holiday stuck indoors, with rain delays dominating the day. By Wednesday, the downpour forced all outdoor play to be canceled after matches started but were suspended about 40 minutes in. The whole venue was stuck in a grey, wet pause, broken only by the bright orange tarps covering the courts.

Australian pro Alex de Minaur kept his cool in the damp. On the uncovered Court Simonne-Mathieu, he cruised past America’s Alex Michelsen 6-1, 6-0, 6-2. “You’ve got to see the bright side,” he said. “The most important thing is to have a positive mindset throughout the day because it’s very easy to start complaining about the weather, the conditions, everything — but if you start down that rabbit hole, you can probably guarantee you’re not going to play a good level match.”

Not everyone handled it as well. Taylor Fritz was livid when told he had to play on Court 9 in 30 minutes, after expecting at least two and a half hours. “I’m just chilling on the couch in the locker room and I’m under the impression that there is minimum two and a half hours before I play,” he said. “Then they tell me I’m on in 30 minutes. I said, ‘No chance.’ I pushed it to 45 minutes. It’s still so tough to mentally prepare to go on in that short of time when I’ve had it set in my mind it’s going to be a minimum two and a half hours. That was the toughest thing.”

Hopefully, this year will see lesser downpour, right? Afterall, the tournment’s just kicked off and it’s already looking good with the players looking to taste Grand Slam glory on the clay, albiet a little slippery!