The middle weekend of a Grand Slam is always special – thousands of fans descending upon the grounds, enjoying the sunshine, the atmosphere and the ever-more meaningful matches in front of them, as the draws begin to narrow towards the latter stages of the tournament.

But while much attention is rightly focused on the men’s and women’s events, the middle weekend also sees 128 junior players get their campaigns to be recognised as tennis’ Next Big Thing underway. And while not all players who compete in the Grand Slam junior draws will go on to be superstars, it is certain that a good number of them will breakthrough to the professional game in just a few years’ time.

Twelve former girls’ singles champions began the women’s tournament at Roland Garros this year, with two – Coco Gauff and Leylah Fernandez – advancing to the round of 16 after strong displays during the opening week.

“I think that's what really helped me a lot, playing juniors, finishing those tournaments and knowing what it's like to play long tournaments in both singles and doubles,” Gauff, who won the girls’ title in Paris in 2018 at the aged of just 14, reflected after her third round victory over Kaia Kanepi on Friday.

Experience at the highest level of the junior game is indeed of huge benefit – which would explain why 2022 Australian Open junior champions Bruno Kuzuhara, of USA, and Petra Marcinko, of Croatia, are likely to contend for a second junior Grand Slam title this week. Kuzuhara takes on Turkish qualifier Togan Tokac in the first round, while Marcinko has been handed a potentially tricky draw against Canada’s Kayla Cross.

Paraguay’s Daniel Vallejo is seeded second in the boys’ draw, and will start against Paul Inchauspe, one of 19 French players contesting the junior events this year. Other contenders include Australian Open runner-up Jakub Mensik, the No. 3 seed, Croatia’s Mili Poljicak, who is seeded fourth, and the American Nishesh Basavareddy, who has shot up the rankings following title-wins at two Grade A events in 2022, and will play as the No. 5 seed.

In the girls’ draw, Belgium’s Sofia Costoulas, who lost out to Marcinko in Melbourne, will be a threat, as will 2020 Australian Open girls’ singles champion Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, the 16-year-old from Andorra who is now ranked inside the WTA Top 200. No. 4 seed Brenda Fruhvirtova leads a predictably strong Czech contingent who will all be aiming to emulate their compatriot Linda Noskova, who in 2021 became the first Czech girl to win the junior title in Paris since Hana Mandlikova in 1978.

With such strong fields in both the boys’ and girls’ draws, however, it would not be surprising to see impressive performances from players outside the top seeds. These draws are perhaps the deepest at a junior Grand Slam event since tennis returned after the enforced break due to the pandemic.

So all 128 players will know that a tough week lies ahead of them if they are to end it with some silverware to their name. And certainly there will be disappointment for many over the coming days.

But win or lose this week, every junior who steps on to court at Roland Garros this week still has a chance of reaching the very top of the game. And Fernandez, the 2019 girls’ singles champion here, had words of encouragement for this year’s crop of aspiring junior players.

“Everybody has a different path,” the US Open runner-up said on Friday. “I can't say that winning a junior Grand Slam will help a player to become a professional. But what I can say is that every single one of those players are working hard and they are fighting for their dream.”