Roland Garros 2025's Grand Slam debuts: Eala, Mboko, Valentova and more

Nine players will break new ground at Roland Garros 2025 by competing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time, the largest cohort in over two years. Get to know them here.

Emiliana Arango (COL)

The road to a first Grand Slam main draw has been a long and winding one for Arango, who reached her first WTA quarterfinal as a 17-year-old wild card by defeating Veronica Cepede Royg and Jasmine Paolini at Bogota 2018.

A hip injury sustained at that tournament sidelined Arango for six months, and then a knee problem took her out for another seven months in 2021-22. In 2023, she enjoyed a superb season -- including her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Guadalajara and reaching the final round of Wimbledon qualifying -- to rise to the brink of the Top 100. But in 2024, she slumped back out of the Top 200, and lost in the first round of qualifying at each major.

At the end of 2024, Arango's results took another upturn as she reached her first WTA 125 final in Santa Cruz. This year, she's built on it in style: a nine-match winning streak in February encompassed her first WTA 125 title in Cancun and a first WTA 500 final in Merida, and launched her into the Top 100.

Now ranked No. 88, Arango will become the seventh Colombian woman in the Open Era to compete in a major main draw, following Paola Palacios, Maria Isabel Fernández, Fabiola Zuluaga, Catalina Castaño, Mariana Duque-Mariño and Camila Osorio. The presence of both Arango and Osorio at Roland Garros marks the first time since the 2005 US Open (Zuluaga and Castaño) that a Grand Slam main draw has featured two Colombians.

Arango is one of two players who will make their Grand Slam main-draw debut at Roland Garros via direct entry, alongside Alexandra Eala. They will play each other in the first round.

Lois Boisson (FRA)

Thirteen months ago, Lois Boisson was set to make her Grand Slam main-draw debut on home soil. With two weeks to go until Roland Garros, she had a sizable lead in the Race France standings that would have earned her a wild card, having put together a spectacular 31-6 record over the first four months of 2024. That included her first WTA 125 title in Saint-Malo, and lifted her to a career high of No. 152.

Then, disaster struck. Boisson injured her ACL in the first round of the Paris WTA 125, and would be sidelined for the next nine months. In the aftermath, she composed an emotional social media post.

"This last week has been very painful emotionally, the impression that everything is stopping and does not have any more sense," Boisson wrote. "I was finally truly fulfilled on a tennis court, the process was well under way, surrounded by a awesome team, I was going to play the tournaments that I have dreamed of since I started playing tennis.

"In the space of a week I went from 'collapsed' to the ground, the joy of winning my first WTA title, to 'collapsed' to the ground because my knee gave out and the pain was immense. The shock is violent, I didn't imagine the rest of the season this way ...

"But this is the path that life has decided to give me, now it's time for discipline to get back to the top!"

On WTA debut, French wild card Boisson defeats Dart in Rouen

That's exactly what Boisson has delivered on her comeback this year. The 22-year-old reached the final of her fourth tournament back, an ITF W35 in Terrassa, Spain. She made her tour-level debut in Rouen and reached the second round by routing Harriet Dart. And, two weeks ago, she returned to the champion's circle by winning the Saint-Gaudens ITF W75.

Now ranked No. 358, Boisson will seek to keep her winning streak going against No. 24 seed Elise Mertens in the first round.

Alexandra Eala (PHI)

In March, Alexandra Eala delivered a truly sensational breakthrough run in Miami. A wild card ranked No. 140, she had only notched one Top 50 win, and two tour-level victories, prior to that tournament. But wielding a lethal left-handed forehand and pouncing on aggressive returns, Eala took down three Grand Slam champions -- Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek -- to reach the semifinals, where she stretched Jessica Pegula to three sets.

It was a remarkable way for Eala's results to catch up to the attention she has received ever since she defeated Linda Noskova to win Les Petits As, the premier U14 tournament in the world, in 2018. The Philippines has little tennis history at the highest level, and Eala has been a trailblazer all the way. She was the first Filipina to win a junior major (the 2022 US Open, plus two girls' doubles Slams); the first to compete and win a match at WTA main-draw level (at Cluj-Napoca 2021); after Miami, the first to be ranked inside the Top 100; and, next week, will be the first to compete in a Grand Slam main draw.

When she was still only 17 years old, Eala graced the cover of Vogue Philippines in 2022. Her progress afterwards was slow and steady -- she did not make it through her first six major qualifying draws, including three final-round losses in 2024 -- until the lightning bolt that was Miami launched her into the international big time.

A month later, Eala even came close to reprising her most eye-catching win, leading Swiatek by a set and a break in the Madrid second round before the Pole turned that match around. Now at a career high of No. 69, Eala -- who turned 20 on the Friday before Roland Garros -- will face Emiliana Arango in the first round.

Eala’s breakout makes one thing clear: She picked the right sport

Joanna Garland (TPE)

A former Top 20 junior with wins over Zheng Qinwen and Diana Shnaider, Chinese Taipei's Joanna Garland reached the Top 250 by 2023 -- only to miss most of the 2024 season due to injury. But on her return, the British-born player was near-unstoppable.

Garland put together a 29-match ITF winning streak in the last three months of 2024. Since October, she's compiled a 54-10 record and lifted a whopping nine ITF trophies -- on hard courts in Kayseri, Türkiye; on carpet in Solarino, Italy; on clay in Nairobi, Kenya. Ranked No. 551 in November, the 23-year-old is now at a career high of No. 177.

This week, back in a Grand Slam qualifying draw for the first time since 2023, Garland proved her form could translate from far-flung ITFs to this level as well. Boasting a solid power game, she defeated Celine Naef, Petra Marcinko and Anna-Lena Friedsam without losing a set to make her tour-level debut.

Garland is the eighth player from Chinese Taipei to compete in a Grand Slam main draw following Wang Shi-Ting, Janet Lee, Chuang Chia-Jung, Latisha Chan, Hsieh Su-Wei, Chang Kai-Chen and Liang En-Shuo. She'll face Katie Volynets in the first round.

Victoria Mboko (CAN)

Another player who's brought serious momentum from an ITF hot streak to the highest levels of professional tennis is Canadian phenom Victoria Mboko. The 18-year-old was a Top 10 junior and a two-time girls' doubles major finalist (with Kayla Cross), and made her WTA debut at Granby 2022. But injuries halted her momentum over the next two years.

This year, with former No. 2 Nathalie Tauziat as her travelling coach, Mboko is finally healthy -- and almost unbeatable. She started the year with a 22-match winning streak and now has a head-turning 40-5 record, having collected ITF trophies in the Caribbean, England and Portugal.

Mboko, 18, upsets Osorio for first WTA win; improves to 28-1 in 2025

Two of those losses might have caught the world's attention more than the victories. Mboko has played two WTA 1000 events this year -- Miami as a wild card and Rome as a qualifier -- and made the second round both times. Those defeats were her first two meetings with Top 15 opposition -- Paula Badosa in Miami and Coco Gauff in Rome -- and both were hard-fought three-setters in which Mboko proved she could go toe-to-toe with the best players in the world.

Following her run in Rome, Mboko got back to work. She made her first WTA 125 final in Parma last week, lifting her to a career high of No. 122 (from No. 333 at the start of the year). In her Grand Slam qualifying debut this week, she defeated Sinja Kraus, Kathinka Von Deichmann and Kaja Juvan without dropping a set. In the main draw, Lulu Sun awaits in the first round.

Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah (FRA)

The end of March this year saw Caroline Garcia's 12-year stint inside the Top 100 also come to a conclusion, leaving just one Frenchwoman -- Varvara Gracheva -- representing le tricolore at that level. With Roland Garros approaching, hand-wringing in the French media ensued.

In that context, the arrival of Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah couldn't have been better timed. The Madagascar-born 19-year-old came through qualifying in Rouen to make her WTA main-draw debut, then went all the way to the quarterfinals after notching her first two Top 100 wins over Lucia Bronzetti and Jaqueline Cristian. Along the way, Rakotomanga Rajaonah impressed with her all-court game and variety.

Having cut her ranking from No. 830 to No. 371 over the course of 2024, Rakotomanga Rajaonah is now up to No. 238 and is currently the only French teenager in the Top 500. Awarded a wild card, she will face qualifier Leyre Romero Gormaz in the first round.

Leyre Romero Gormaz (ESP)

Between 2020 and 2022, Leyre Romero Gormaz took just two years to cut her ranking from outside the Top 1,000 to inside the Top 200. But the Spaniard slipped back out of the Top 300 in 2023, losing her first six Grand Slam qualifying matches in the process.

In 2024, Romero Gormaz put together a resurgence that included her biggest title to date, the Caserta ITF W75, and her WTA main-draw debut in Iasi. The 23-year-old has kept that going this year. She qualified for Auckland to start the year, and was runner-up at two out of three Antalya WTA 125 tournaments this spring -- her first two finals at that level.

Grabher saves match point vs. Romero Gormaz, posts first WTA win since 2023

Now ranked No. 150, Romero Gormaz did not drop a set in three qualifying matches over Darya Astakhova, Astra Sharma and Linda Klimovicova. She will face wild card Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah in the first round in a clash of Grand Slam first-timers.

Anastasiia Sobolieva (UKR)

At No. 230 in the rankings, Anastasiia Sobolieva was one of the lowest-ranked direct entrants in the qualifying draw this week. She had not won a match in her three previous attempts to qualify for a Grand Slam, and she had lost in the first round of her two previous main draws (as a qualifier at Cluj-Napoca 2023 and Prague 2024).

That didn't stop the 21-year-old Ukrainian powering through a draw that consisted of two British seeds and one French wild card. Sobolieva dropped just three games against No. 15 Harriet Dart in her opener, then came through a rollercoaster 6-0, 0-6, 6-2 over No. 22 Francesca Jones in the final round. Despite winning only eight points in the second set, Sobolieva delivered high-intensity, clean ball-striking to run away with the decider.

Bondar survives teenage qualifier Sobolieva in Cluj-Napoca opener

The past two years have seen Sobolieva win her first three ITF W35 titles, all in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy; and last August, she reached her first WTA 125 semifinal in Barranquilla, Colombia. She will face No. 11 seed Diana Shnaider in the first round -- the first time she will have played an opponent in the Top 60.

Tereza Valentova (CZE)

Just under a year ago, Tereza Valentova wrapped up her junior career in style, capturing both the singles and doubles crowns at Roland Garros (the latter alongside Renata Jamrichova).

This year, the latest teenage talent from the Czech conveyor belt has smoothly upgraded to the senior main draw. Playing the first Grand Slam qualifying event of her career, the 18-year-old dropped just 15 games in three matches, including a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of the in-form Dalma Galfi in the second round for her first Top 100 victory. Valentova will make her tour-level debut, having received just three qualifying wild cards in her career to date, all in her home country.

Valentova is the daughter of Olympic sprint canoeist Jitka Janackova, but she's paced herself in transitioning from juniors to pros. Roland Garros is just her 19th pro tournament since the start of 2024, but she's won seven of those -- including four at ITF W75 level -- to raise her ranking from No. 690 to No. 174 in 17 months. Her record in that time span is a remarkable 61-11.

She'll meet wild card Chloe Paquet in the first round, with a potential second-round date with No. 2 seed Coco Gauff on the line.

Previously:

Australian Open 2025's Grand Slam debuts: Lamens, Emerson Jones, Wei and more

US Open 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Joint, Jovic, Shibahara and more

Wimbledon 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Todoni, Stakusic

Roland Garros 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Sonmez, Carle, Riera and more

Australian Open 2024's Grand Slam debuts: Sun, Kessler, Starodubtseva and more

US Open 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Ngounoue, Prozorova, Crawley

Wimbledon 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Bouzas Maneiro, Bai, Naef and more

Roland Garros 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Mirra Andreeva, Waltert, Shymanovich

Australian Open 2023's Grand Slam debuts: Shnaider, Lys, Polina Kudermetova, and more

US Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Erika Andreeva, Avanesyan, Stearns and more

Wimbledon 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Yuan, Chwalinska, Kartal and more

Roland Garros 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Noskova, Niemeier, Selekhmeteva and more

Australian Open 2022's Grand Slam debuts: Zheng Qinwen, Bronzetti, Cristian and more

US Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Navarro, Krueger, Parks and more

Wimbledon 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Raducanu, Burrage

Roland Garros 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Osorio, Liang, Gorgodze and more

Australian Open 2021's Grand Slam debuts: Danilovic, Francesca Jones

Roland Garros 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Tauson, Sherif, Zarazua and more

US Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Gracheva, Montgomery, Baptiste and more

Australian Open 2020's Grand Slam debuts: Fernandez, Trevisan, Cocciaretto and more

US Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Wang Xiyu, Volynets, Bolkvadze

Wimbledon 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Gauff, McNally, Flink

Roland Garros 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Rybakina, Paolini, Samsonova and more

Australian Open 2019's Grand Slam debuts: Swiatek, Badosa, Veronika Kudermetova and more

US Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Muchova, Yastremska, Kalinina and more

Wimbledon 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Ruse, Dart, Lapko and more

Roland Garros 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Krejcikova, Dolehide, Jakupovic and more

Australian Open 2018's Grand Slam debuts: Kostyuk, Kalinskaya, Wang Xinyu and more

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