Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova
Roland Garros organisers are confident that the absence from the 2017 French Open of Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will just be a footnote when the story of the second major of the season is told.
"The absence of these three stars does not weaken the tournament because Roland Garros remains an institution and the Holy Grail for a player," French tennis historian Jean-Christophe Piffau commented.
This year Nadal has captured a 10th Monte Carlo Masters and 10th title in Barcelona; now the great Spaniard targets what many in the sport thought was impossible, a 10th Roland Garros. The champions from 2010 to 2015 — Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Li Na and Francesca Schiavone — are absent.