India’s top-ranked singles player Yuki Bhambri gained a direct entry into the main draw of the French Open after reaching his career-best ranking earlier this week.

He broke back into the top-100 for the first time since February 2016 following his-title winning performance at the Taipei Challenger as he leapfrogged 22 places to a career-best rank of 83.

This will be his second straight appearance in a Grand Slam main draw after going through qualifications at the Australian Open in January. He had gone down in the first round to Marcos Baghdatis in Melbourne.

Serena Williams was officially entered on the Roland Garros entry list on Wednesday in what would be her first Grand Slam event since the 2017 Australian Open.

Also appearing on the main draw line-up in the men’s event is Andy Murray, who hasn’t played since last year’s Wimbledon and was widely expected to return to action at a grass court event in the Netherlands the week after the French Open in June.

Williams, 36, is a three-time champion in Paris with titles in 2002, 2013 and 2015, making up her 23 career major triumphs.

The American only returned to action in the Fed Cup first round in February after 13 months away from the sport to give birth to her first daughter and get married.

She lost the ‘dead’ doubles rubber with sister Venus in that Fed Cup tie against the Dutch.

Serena’s return to the WTA tour has also not gone smoothly with a third-round defeat to Venus at Indian Wells followed by a first-round exit at the hands of Naomi Osaka in Miami.

She can enter the French Open on a ‘protected ranking’ despite her current position of a lowly 445 in the world.

World number one Rafal Nadal, who will be seeking an 11th Roland Garros title, leads the men’s entry list which, as expected, does not feature Roger Federer who is sitting out the clay court season for a second successive year.

Murray, a former number one, has not played at all since the Wimbledon quarter-finals and underwent hip surgery in January. The 30-year-old Briton was runner-up at the French Open in 2016.

He is expected to warm-up for Wimbledon at the Rosmalen grass court event from June 11.

With inputs from AFP