Five Challenger players to watch at Roland Garros

ATPTour.com lists five ATP Challenger Tour stars to keep your eyes on at Roland Garros.

Mariano Navone
The Argentine has accomplished a rare feat: being seeded in his first major main draw. Navone's rapid rise has seen him surge from last year’s season-leading five Challenger titles to where he is today, the 31st seed in Paris. A year ago today, Navone was No. 224 in the PIF ATP Rankings and had yet to win a Challenger title.

In just seven appearances at ATP Tour level, the 23-year-old has made two finals (Rio de Janeiro, Bucharest) and a semi-final (Marrakech). A highlight for Navone came earlier this month when he won his biggest career title at the ATP Challenger 175 event in Cagliari, Italy. Navone looks to continue his breakthrough season on the Parisian clay, where he faces Pablo Carreno Busta in the first round.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Standing tall at 6’8”, Mpetshi Perricard’s hefty serve and one-handed backhand will quickly garner attention. The 20-year-old wild card arrives at Roland Garros following a dream maiden title run at the ATP 250 event in Lyon, his home city. The Frenchman saved a championship point en route to lifting the trophy. One of two players to win a trio of Challenger titles this season, Mpetshi Perricard is at No. 66 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a career high.

‘Gio’ starts against David Goffin and should he beat the Belgian, Mpetshi Perricard will meet the winner of the blockbuster first-round match between fourth seed Alexander Zverev and 14-time champion Rafael Nadal.

Terence Atmane
The lefty won a pair of Challenger titles in 2023 and now aims to make a splash at his home Slam. Competing at the season’s second major for the first time, Atmane produces electric shotmaking that will draw vocal support from French fans.

The World No. 120 faced Daniil Medvedev in the first round of the Australian Open and took the opening set off the eventual finalist, but Atmane was forced to retire in the fourth set due to cramps (Medvedev led 5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 1-0). The 22-year-old opens against Sebastian Ofner, who reached the fourth round last year.

Valentin Vacherot
The Monegasque enjoyed a 15-match winning streak to start the Challenger season, lifting three titles along the way. It marked the longest winning streak to open a year on the Challenger Tour since 2017. In his first Grand Slam qualifying attempt this past week, Vacherot twice rallied from a set down to earn a spot in the field of 128.

The 25-year-old, at a career-high No. 116, aims at earning his highest-ranked win in the opening round against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, No. 34 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Thiago Agustin Tirante
A four-time Challenger champion, Tirante first cracked the Top 100 in February after reaching the second round of the ATP 250 in Santiago. Five weeks later, the 23-year-old was dominant in winning the Mexico City Challenger, where he did not lose a set all week to go one step further than last year’s final appearance at the clay-court event.

In the Argentine’s major main-draw debut last year at Roland Garros, Tirante earned an opening-round upset against 25th seed Botic van de Zandschulp. Tirante starts against Spaniard Pedro Martinez with a potential clash against sixth seed Andrey Rublev looming in the second round.