​Welcome to the WTA French Open preview edition of  "This Week in Tennis." Below you will be given a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, and pointed in the direction of intriguing first round matches at tennis' second Grand Slam. 
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Click here for the ATP French Open preview.

(1) Angelique Kerber

Best Result: QF - 2012

2017 Clay Results: R16 - Stuttgart, Madrid
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The world number one has suffered through an indifferent start to her 2017 season, reaching at least the quarterfinals in only four events, with one final in Monterrey. Having lost in the first round in Paris last year, Kerber at least has a good chance to pad her lead atop the women's rankings. 

(2) Karolína Plíšková

Best Result: 2R - 2014, 2015

2016 Clay Results: QF - Stuttgart, Rome

Prior to last year's U.S. Open, the second seed had never reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam. After making the final in New York, and the quarters in Australia, Pliskova will now look to improve upon two second round showings in Paris. ​Prior Slam results are no longer a predictive tool for the world #3.

(3) Simona Halep

Best Result: F - 2015

2017 Clay Results: W - Madrid, F - Rome, SF - Stuttgart

A finalist in 2015, Simona Halep had the most accomplished clay court season of any WTA player heading into this year's French Open. Unfortunately for the world #4, she enters the event carrying an ankle injury that may hinder her hopes of capturing a maiden Grand Slam title. She also has the misfortune of a potential quarterfinal meeting with Svitolina. 

(4) Garbine Muguruza

Best Result: W - 2016

2017 Clay Results: SF - Rome, R16 - Stuttgart

Muguruza is defending champion, but few are picking her to win the title. She endured an extended slump after winning her first major in Paris last year. She showed signs of a resurgence by making the semifinals in Rome. Unfortunately, she injured her neck prior to the match and was forced to retire. For the optimists out there, her pre-Roland Garros 2016 season was underwhelming and she still walked away with the title.  

​Welcome to the ATP French Open preview edition of  "This Week in Tennis." Below you will be given a rundown of the top eight seeds, players to watch, and pointed in the direction of intriguing first round matches at tennis' second Grand Slam. 

Click here for the WTA French Open preview.

(1) Andy Murray

Best Result: F - 2016

2017 Clay Results: SF - Barcelona, R16 - Monte Carlo, Madrid 

World #1 Murray hasn't lived up to his ranking in 2017, owning a paltry 16-7 record on the season. His most recent result heading into the French Open is a 2-6 4-6 loss to Fabio Fognini in Rome. A finalist last year at Roland Garros, Murray has 1,200 ranking points to defend from a year ago. After suffering from shingles and the flu, his fitness is a question mark.
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(2) Novak Djokovic

Best Result: W - 2016

2017 Clay Results: F - Rome, SF - Madrid, QF - Monte Carlo  

Djokovic enters the 2017 French Open as defending champion, having finally completed his career Grand Slam 12 months prior. He also carries with him the added spotlight of a new, high-profile coaching hire in Andre Agassi, as well as a new clothing sponsor in Lacoste. While his results in 2017 have paled in comparison to this time last year, a finals appearance in Rome might have steadied the ship just in the nick of time.

(3) Stan Wawrinka

Best Result: W - 2015

2017 Clay Results: W - Geneva, QF - Monte Carlo, R16 - Rome 

While Stan Wawrinka is arguably the most inconsistent elite player on the ATP Tour, that reputation doesn't apply to his play in Grand Slams over the last four years; only four times in his last 16 Slam starts has Wawrinka failed to reach at least the final eight. He can beat anybody on any given day, and he should be in the thick of things once more. 

​(4) Rafael Nadal

Best Result: W - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2017 Clay Results: W - Monte Carlo, W - Barcelona, W - Madrid, QF - Rome

Rafael Nadal entered the 2016 French Open on a roll, aiming to win a tenth title at Roland Garros. A wrist injury forced his withdrawal before the third round, laying waste to that dream. A year later, Nadal returns in even better form, having reached the finals of the Australian Open and winning titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and Madrid. During that stretch, he also managed to score his first win over Djokovic -- a convincing one at that -- since the 2014 French Open. 
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​#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

RUNDOWN

• Rafael Nadal continued his domination of the European clay season with his third successive title, this time in Madrid. He beat Fognini, Kyrgios, and Djokovic before taking out Dominic Thiem in a rematch of the Barcelona final. Nadal jumps to #4 in the world rankings and leads the pack in the Race to London standings.
• Simona Halep  defended her Madrid title, beating Kiki Mladenovic 7-5, 6-7, 6-2. Halep also vaults into the top 8 of the Road to Singapore standings.
• Dominic Thiem scored back-to-back finals appearances, in Barcelona and Madrid. Unfortunately for the world #7, he lost both matches in straight sets to Rafael Nadal. 
• Kristina Mladenovic reached her fourth final of 2017, losing in three sets to Simona Halep in Madrid. Mladenovic continues to grab headlines off the court too, once more opining on the Sharapova wild card situation.
• Roger Federer announced his withdrawal from Roland Garros. The current Australian Open champion said he intended to focus on his grass and hard-court preparation.
• Juan Monaco has retired from pro tennis. The 33-year-old Argentinian -- who had been troubled by injuries over the past few years -- retires with 9 titles and a career high ranking of number 10.
• Nick Kyrgios will be working part-time with former pro Sebastien Grosjean.
• Novak Djokovic lost in the Madrid semifinals to Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 6-4, against whom he had not lost since 2014. Djokovic recently overhauled his team, splitting with mentor Marian Vajda but retaining amor y paz "guru" Pepe Imaz.
• Maria Sharapova will not receive a wild card to play the French Open.
• Ilie Nastase, embattled since his disastrous display as Fed Cup captain last month, was invited to present the winner's trophy to Simona Halep in Madrid.  
• Francesca Schiavone took the high road in letting her fans know why she didn't enter Rome pre-qualifying. 

​#ThisWeekInTennis recaps the tennis happenings of the last week via news reports, social media, featured articles, rankings, and podcasts.

RUNDOWN
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• Maria Sharapova returned to the WTA last week after completing a 15-month doping ban. The recipient of a controversial wildcard in Stuttgart, Sharapova reached the semifinals before falling to French no. 1 Kiki Mladenovic. 
• Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for a record tenth time last week.  The Spaniard equaled the record he set two weeks ago in Monte Carlo, where he also triumphed for a tenth time. Nadal defeated a resurgent Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1 in the Barcelona final.
• Wild card Laura Siegemund beat Kiki Mladenovic for her biggest career title in Stuttgart. Last year's finalist, Siegemund went one better by beating a who's who of WTA talent, including Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
• Elina Svitolina won her third title of 2017 last week in Istanbul. Svitolina now leads the WTA field in most titles on the season. 
• Lucas  Pouille won the second title of his career last week in Budapest. The Frenchman saved two match points in his opening match against Jiri Vesely before going on to beat Aljaz Bedene in the final. 
• Playing in his second career final, Aljaz Bedene came up one round shy of claiming his first ATP Tour title in Budapest. Bedene was also, once again, the target of xenophobic attacks from countryman Dan Evans.
• Kiki Mladenovic's stellar 2017 campaign continued in Stuttgart, beating Maria Sharapova in the semifinals on her comeback, before losing to Siegemund in the final. 
• Kimiko Date returns to the WTA in Gifu, the site of her initial return to tennis in 2008. The former world number four, now 46 years old, is returning from double knee surgery last year. 
• Injury news: Naomi Osaka  ruptured an abdominal muscle in Stuttgart and has withdrawn from Prague and Madrid. Belinda Bencic also announced her wrist surgery that will keep her off tour for months.
• Petra Kvitova is playing tennis again. The Czech star shared a photo of her practising in Monaco.