Seven of the world’s top 10 men and eight of the world’s top 10 women will contest this week's Roland Garros wheelchair tennis event, which gets underway today, boasting Grand Slam tournament status for the first time and yielding the maximum world ranking points available on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.

World No. 1 players and defending champions Shingo Kunieda (JPN) and Esther Vergeer (NED) head the entries as they bid to win the men's and women's singles for the third successive year.

Kunieda’s opposition will include world No. 3 Robin Ammerlaan (NED), runner-up to the Japanese player for the last two years.

With seven direct acceptances based on ranking and one wild card, Nicolas Peifer (FRA) is the wild card for the men's event, joining his compatriots Stephane Houdet and Michael Jeremiasz to give the host nation three representatives in the field. Meanwhile, world No 7 Martin Legner (AUT) joins the field as a late replacement in the men's singles after Tadeusz Kruszelnicki (POL) was forced to withdraw.

An enthralling opening day's action today will see Ammerlaan take on world No. 2 Houdet, while Kunieda faces reigning NEC Singles Masters champion and world No. 5 Stefan Olsson (SWE)

Vergeer heads five Dutch players among the eight entries for the women’s singles, with world No. 3 Florence Gravellier (FRA) the highest ranked non-Dutch entry.

At the cut-off date for entries last month, all the world's top eight women's players were accepted for Roland Garros, although wild card Annick Sevenans (BEL) goes in to the event with a world ranking of No. 9 this week.

While Ammerlaan has reached the last two men's finals against Kunieda, current world No. 2 Korie Homan and Gravellier have both met Vergeer in the women's final in the last two years, with Gravellier stretching Vergeer to three sets in 2007. However, Vergeer remains undefeated and starts Roland Garros this week on a winning streak of 357 matches.

Vergeer begins her title defence today against fellow Dutchwoman Aniek Van Koot, while Homan plays Lucy Shuker (GBR).

Today’s play will take place on Courts 7 and 9 at Roland Garros.

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