When you think of Paris, you think of fine art, gorgeous fashion, fine dining and irresistible architecture. The French capital is a city of things that look good. So, what better tennis tournament to be given an upgrade into pixel-perfect, ultra-high-definition viewing than Roland-Garros 2024? You can watch the event at Stade Roland-Garros live in UHD on Eurosport on Virgin TV.

Starting with the preliminary qualification rounds from Monday 20 May, customers who subscribe to Eurosport on the Mega pack and watch on a V6 box (powered by TiVo^®), Virgin TV 360 or Stream from Virgin Media can enjoy the main draw fortnight from Sunday 26 May in dazzling 4K on CH 523. It might just be the next best thing to being there.

During the main tournament, this special UHD channel will be available to watch 24/7, showing live tennis played on the Court Philippe Chatrier, Stade Roland-Garros’ centrepiece and principal venue, along with repeats of matches you might have missed.

Haven’t got one of those boxes or a compatible 4K TV? Don’t worry, because all Eurosport subscribers will still be able to catch every sensational serve, volley and smash across the whole three-week schedule in HD on Eurosport 1 HD (CH 521). Eurosport subscribers can also watch full coverage whenever on the Virgin TV Go app.

Whether you’re watching in UHD or HD, or even on the go, this year’s tournament is set to be a belter, with more storylines than a prestige drama. To help get you up to speed ahead of Roland-Garros, here are the talking points you’ll need to know.

1. It’s “the last dance” for Nadal

It’s now sporting clichés law: the final season for anyone who announces their retirement ahead of actually retiring will be called “the last dance”, after Netflix’s Michael Jordan documentary of the same name. For 14-time winner Rafael Nadal, who retires from tennis at this season’s close, this tournament will mark his final attempt to win back the Coupe des Mousquetaires, which he last claimed in 2022.

If you want an indication of just how impressive Nadal’s numbers are: Novak Djokovic, the current world number one and holder of the most Grand Slams in the Open Era, has only won this tournament three times (including last year’s title).

Realistically, no one is expecting the most decorated singles player at Roland-Garros to leave the court with title number 15 in his hand – with nothing in his game so far in 2024 to suggest a romantic Parisian ending is on the cards. But no player is loved more in this city than the Spaniard, so expect an emotional finale no matter what.

2. Iga Świątek eyes her fourth title

There’s something about clay courts that makes world number one Iga Świątek come alive, and especially the courts at Roland-Garros. Having lifted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen in 2020, 2022 and 2023, another win here would make it four in five and lift her above Serena Williams in the tournament’s GOAT list. And with age firmly on the side of the impressive 22-year-old Pole, who would bet against Świątek eventually going after the all-time women’s record (currently Chris Evert, with seven titles)?

The signs are very strong that number four is on the way after a dominant performance in her maiden Madrid Open just weeks before Paris. Her current supremacy was further underlined when she gave up just 12 games en route to the title before eventually beating her closest rival Aryna Sabalenka in a thrilling final.

Bigger tennis questions will eventually face Świątek – why she hasn’t gone beyond the last eight at Wimbledon or past the semi-finals in Australia, for example. But in Paris, Świątek feels inevitable.

3. Is it time for Andrey Rublev?

If we’re talking about Świątek following her impressive showing on the clay courts in Madrid, then surely we need to talk about world number eight Andrey Rublev, who won the men’s title. Yes, there were mitigating factors with the likes of top seed Jannik Sinner pulling out through injury (and that storyline may also play its part at Roland-Garros), but Rublev’s victory against Félix Auger-Aliassime shouldn’t be ignored.

The Russian has never gone further than the quarter-final in a Grand Slam (including Australia earlier this year), but could this be the tournament when he takes the step up? It was Sinner who knocked him out in Melbourne, so should the Italian also miss out in Paris, it could be as much of a mental boost as an actual boost for Rublev.

Going into Madrid, the 26-year-old had been in poor form, but he beat world number three and home favourite Carlos Alcaraz on his way to the final. He also managed to overcome a fever during the tournament and credited the doctors for doing something “magical” to get him onto the courts. He might want to buy those docs a ticket to France, then…

4. Can Andy Murray set up a final Wimbledon?

It all looked so good in March. Andy Murray had found a little form in what he suggested would be his final season in professional tennis. But then he ruptured his anterior talofibular ligament and calcaneofibular ligament during the Miami Open. As you’d expect from medical words of that length, these were significant injuries, putting his involvement at Roland-Garros, plus Wimbledon and the Olympics in Paris, very much in doubt.

But there’s a glimmer of hope. Murray began training on clay just a few weeks ago and gained a last-minute wildcard slot into the Geneva Open, so the signs – at the time of writing – suggest that the Scot may play his part here.

As with Nadal, it’s unlikely to be a triumphant curtain call, considering recent injuries, historic injuries and his current fitness levels. The crowds at Stade Roland-Garros are also unlikely to mark the 2016 finalist’s own “last dance” with as much emotion as Nadal’s finale. Instead, this is about the end goal. Should Murray even make it to the clay, it will be a significant step in his rehabilitation, setting up a proper goodbye in SW19 later in the year.

5. Novak Djokovic is human after all

2023 was a vintage year for the Serbian. He bagged three out of four of the Grand Slams, including Roland-Garros, and he became the first player in singles to reach 400 weeks as the world number one. If he had done one of those Instagram end-of-year wrap-up videos in December, the prevailing message would have been: “Smashed it.”

Such is the level for one of the planet’s finest athletes, anything other than a win is a shock. His year began with his first loss at the Australian Open since 2018, and his first-ever Australian Open semi-final loss. Then in March, he lost in the Indian Wells Masters against world number 123 Luca Nardi in three sets, where Nardi became the lowest-ranked player to defeat him. At the Monte-Carlo Masters, he exited in the semi-finals.

What we’re saying is that Djokovic, against all evidence to the contrary, is not a machine. He’s human. He’s fallible. And that will make his inevitable fourth Coupe des Mousquetaires even more impressive.

How to watch Roland-Garros 2024 on TV

Coverage from Roland-Garros starts at 9.30am on Monday 20 May on Eurosport 1 HD (CH 521) and Eurosport 2 HD (CH 522) and continues until Sunday 9 June.

Eurosport subscribers can also watch full coverage on the Virgin TV Go app.

Customers who subscribe to Eurosport and have a V6 box, Virgin TV 360 or Stream can watch the main draw in UHD on CH 523 from Sunday 26 May.

How to get Eurosport on Virgin TV

There are lots of Virgin TV bundles that include Eurosport 1 HD and Eurosport 2 HD channels offering coverage of some of the world’s biggest sports events – from Grand Slam tennis tournaments and World Snooker to the Tour de France and the Olympics.

To add Eurosport to your package, either log in to My Virgin Media on your laptop, mobile or tablet and select View package, or press Home > Apps & Games > All Apps > TV Channel Upgrades and follow the instructions.