PARIS, May 26. /TASS/. Russia’s top male racquet Daniil Medvedev fell in the opening round of the 2026 French Open tournament on Tuesday, losing to Australia’s Adam Walton.
In a back-and-forth match that lasted for over three hours, Walton defeated the 6th-seeded Medvedev, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, 6-2; 1-6; 6-1; 1-6; 6-4.
"I’m pretty tired right now," the official ATP website quoted Walton as saying after the match. "It was such an up-and-down match."
"I got off to a hot start, and I felt like the ebbs and flows of the match were quite large today. I’m just really proud of my efforts in the fifth set, to come from a break down to get the win," he added.
Walton, ranked 97th in the world, will play in the next round against Zachary Svajda of the United States. The Australian player has never won a title on the ATP circuit and has never made it past the second round at any Grand Slam.
Medvedev, 30, is currently 8th in the ATP Rankings. He spent sixteen weeks as the world’s number one player in 2022. He previously won the 2021 US Open and holds 23 ATP titles. He won five of those 23 titles in 2023. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup playing for the Russian national team.
One of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, the 2026 French Open takes place in Paris, nicknamed the "City of Light," between May 24 and June 7. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff from the United States are the tournament’s reigning champions on the men's and women's sides respectively.
Russian and Belarusian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.