At each of the four Grand Slam tournaments, 128 players battle through three qualifying stages to earn one of 16 places in the main draw – being involved in qualifying means a player was not ranked sufficiently high enough to gain direct entry.

For 11 of the 12 British competitors at the 2026 French Open, it was a case of au revoir to the terre battue until next year. Here, Sports News Blitz writer and tennis fan AJ Becker takes a closer look at the fortunes of Brits on the Parisian clay last week.