Rafael Nadal begins what may be his last French Open by playing No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in the first round today, expected to be live on NBC Sports and Peacock.
Nadal and Zverev are scheduled to play late in the day session in Paris, which is six hours ahead of Eastern time. NBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock coverage begins at 11 a.m. ET following coverage on Tennis Channel.
Nadal-Zverev is the third scheduled match on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Play begins on the court at 6 a.m. ET with two women’s singles matches: No. 8 seed Ons Jabeur facing American Sachia Vickery, then top seed Iga Swiatek playing France’s Leolia Jeanjean followed by Nadal-Zverev.
FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Men | Women | Broadcast Schedule
Nadal faces a seeded player in the first round of a Slam for the first time in his 68th career Grand Slam singles appearance.
Nadal, due to missing most of the last year and a half due to injuries, is unseeded at a Slam for the first time since the 2005 Australian Open.
Being unseeded meant the record 14-time French Open champion faced the possibility of drawing a seeded player in the first round.
He drew Zverev, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist who earlier this month won the Italian Open, the last top-level ATP Tour event before the French Open.
Nadal and Zverev last met in the 2022 French Open semifinals.
Nadal led that match 7-6 (8), 6-6 when Zverev retired after tearing right ankle ligaments. Zverev missed the rest of the season.
Nadal, 37, missed last year’s French Open with a left hip flexor injury and underwent surgery last June. In announcing his withdrawal before last year’s French Open, Nadal said that he will likely retire in the second half of 2024.
On Saturday, Nadal said there is “a big chance” that this will be his last French Open and that he will make a final decision some time after the tournament.
Nadal has played 15 matches since the start of 2023. He went 5-3 over three clay-court tournaments this spring building up to the French Open.
Nadal is trying to avoid losing back-to-back matches on clay for the first time since he made his ATP Tour match debut in April 2002, according to Tennis Abstract.
