The European leg of the ongoing BWF Tour heads to Paris as the French Open — a Super 750 tournament will be played between October 23 and 28 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in the French capital.
When do the matches start and how to watch them live
The timings of Day 1 will be updated as soon it is made available by the BWF's official website.
Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD will provide live television coverage of the matches in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar and Jio TV.
French Open 2018: Preview
Barring PV Sindhu's shocking early exit, last week's Denmark Open saw top Indian shuttlers make a strong attempt to make up for what has been predominantly an ordinary season.
Saina Nehwal rallied against odds and reached the final, beating the likes of Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara before going down to world number Tai Tzu Ying in the title match. On the other hand, Kidambi Srikanth buckled up and reached the semi-final, in which he was beaten comprehensively by world number one and eventual champion Kento Momota.
Sindhu, India's highest-seeded player in Paris [3], has a good chance to exact revenge against Beiwen Zhang as she had lost the first round in Denmark to the world number 10 from the USA. The two shuttlers meet as early as in the opening round for the second successive week.
Sindhu though may face a big test early as she is slated to face world number seven He Bingjiao in the quarter-final.
However, with reigning world champion Carolina Marin withdrawing, Sindhu has one less shuttler to worry about in the second half which is headlined by second seed Yamaguchi.
Nehwal, who is riding high on confidence, opens her campaign against Japan's Saena Kawakami.
Another tough draw awaits the 27-year-old as she is likely to face eighth seed Okuhara in the second round. If she manages to get past the initial hurdles, she may face numero uno Tai as early as in the quarter-final.
Holder Srikanth faces an uphill task
On the other hand, defending champion Srikanth has also been handed a tough draw. He will face Hong Kong's Wing ki Vincent on Tuesday and a potential quarter-final clash against the unstoppable Momota awaits him.
With Lin Dan and third seed Viktor Axelsen also drawn in the first half of the bracket, Srikanth faces an uphill task in his title defence.
HS Prannoy continues to be absent from the tour due to health issues. Meanwhile, former Singapore Open champion Sai Praneeth opens his campaign against Axelsen while Sameer Verma faces in-form Jonatan Christie of Indonesia on Tuesday.
Seeding information
| Men's singles | Women's singles |
| 1. Kento Momota (Japan) | 1. Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei) |
| 2.Shi Yuqi (China) | 2. Akane Yamaguchi (Japan) |
| 3. Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei) | 3. PV Sindhu (India) |
| 4. Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) | 4. Chen Yufei (China) |
| 5. Kidambi Srikanth (India) | 5. Carolina Marin (Spain) (Withdrawn) |
| 6. Chen Long (China) | 6. Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) |
| 7. Son Wan Ho (South Korea) | 7. He Bingjiao (China) |
| 8. Anthony Ginting (Indonesia) | 8. Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) |
French Open badminton: TV Guide
- Malaysia: TV: Astro Supersport; Live streaming: Astro Go
- Singapore: TV: Star Hub; Live streaming: Starhub Go
- China: CCTV 5+
- Thailand: True Visions
- Denmark: TV 2 SPORT; live streaming: TV 2 Play
