Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah says she is fit, has no physical issues and is ready for the biggest match of her young career when she meets Amanda Anisimova, the No. 6 seed, in the first round of Roland-Garros 2026.
The 20-year-old said she has prepared well and is coming in with belief after winning her first match of the season with the French team in the Billie Jean King Cup. “Ça se passe très bien, je me suis bien préparée. Là, je suis fit, ça va nickel,” she said, adding: “Donc ouais, je suis prête pour mon match.”
For Rakotomanga Rajaonah, the draw is not a burden. She said she likes facing seeded players and sees Roland-Garros as a childhood dream coming true. “C’est un rêve d’enfant, en fait, qui se réalise,” she said. The match also carries a personal edge for her because Roland-Garros is tied in her mind to Rafael Nadal, whose success on the Paris clay has long defined the tournament for French fans.
That clay matters to her game, too. Rakotomanga said the surface at Roland-Garros suits her better than other courts, and she has recently been stringing together good matches after earlier physical problems that had interrupted her rhythm. She said that setback is behind her now and that she feels fully back in shape.
Her run-up to Paris has also been built around her own style rather than trying to reshape her game for the occasion. She said the focus in preparation has been on what she does best, not on overthinking the opponent across the net. That approach may be tested immediately against Anisimova, who arrives in Paris with the seeding and the heavier expectation, while Rakotomanga Rajaonah arrives with momentum and little to lose.
She is also preparing for the setting as much as the matchup. Rakotomanga said she expects to play on a large court, although she does not yet know which one, a detail that underscores how quickly the scale changes once Roland-Garros begins. She has already faced a top name before, starting against Aryna Sabalenka at the Open d'Australie, and that experience should help calm the noise when she steps onto the Paris clay.
What happens next is simple, and unforgiving: Rakotomanga Rajaonah will get her first true test of Roland-Garros 2026 against one of the tournament’s seeded players, with her fitness, her form and her comfort on clay all arriving at the same time.
