FRENCH OPEN
TEENAGER IGA SWIATEK DAZZLES IN PARIS TO CLAIM FIRST GRAND SLAM TITLE
Securing a first Grand Slam title is supposed to be an arduous undertaking but 19-year-old Iga Swiatek crowned an extraordinary fortnight to win the French Open in a blaze of winners on Saturday (Oct 10), crushing Sofia Kenin 6-4 6-1.
Swiatek, who had dropped only 23 games en route to the final, produced another audacious display of shot-making to become Poland’s first Grand Slam singles champion.
Only briefly did Swiatek falter, letting slip a 3-0 lead, but having edged a tight opening set she romped to victory.
Not since German great Steffi Graf went through the fortnight dropping only 20 games in 1988 has a woman won the French Open in such commanding style.
Australian Open champion Kenin, herself only 21, needed treatment at 1-2 in the second set and on the resumption Swiatek was utterly ruthless, conceding only three more points, sealing the title with an unstoppable forehand, her 25th winner.
Swiatek, ranked 54th at the start of the tournament but now into the top 20, is the youngest woman to win the French Open since Monica Seles in 1992 and the first to do so without dropping a set during the fortnight since Justine Henin in 2007.
After claiming victory, the former Wimbledon junior champion made her way into the stands to celebrate with her team including father Tomasz, a former Olympic rower, coach Piotr Sierzputowski and sport psychologist Daria Abramowicz.
“I’m overwhelmed. Two years ago I won a junior grand slam and now I’m here. It feels like such a short time,” Swiatek, the lowest-ranked woman to win the French Open since rankings were introduced in 1975, said after returning to court to lift the Suzanne Lenglen trophy.
“It had to be like that, another underdog won a Grand Slam in women’s tennis. It is so often right now that it is crazy.”
She will no longer be an underdog and her rapid rise continues an exciting time for women’s tennis which is blessed with a new brigade including the likes of 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu (20) and Coco Gauff (16).
Kenin belongs on that list but it was a sad end to her tournament as she was unable to find the form that saw her beat Garbine Muguruza to win the Australian Open in February.
She was crestfallen and teary-eyed at the end.
“I’m disappointed and upset, she played great and is hot right now,” Moscow-born Kenin told reporters.
“A few things didn’t go my way in the first set and then my leg wasn’t in the best condition.”
Swiatek began on the shady side of the sparsely-populated Court Philippe Chatrier court with Kenin in bright sunshine, but it was the Pole’s tennis that illuminated the 84-minute final.
She began as freely as if it was a match at her local club in Warsaw, losing three points in opening a 3-0 lead.
Kenin, whose tightly-wound demeanour was a stark contrast to Swiatek’s calm approach, fought back to 3-3 as her backhand began to do some damage.
Swiatek came through a tense service game at 3-3 and in the best passage of play in the final then broke Kenin after another long game in which she saved a game point with a superb drop volley having chased down a drop shot.
She fluffed a set point at 5-3 and Kenin broke with a glorious backhand to trail 5-4 but Swiatek was feasting on the American’s serve and broke again to take the opener.
Swiatek dropped serve at the start of the second set but never looked ruffled and hit back immediately.
Kenin faded rapidly after she had her left thigh heavily taped, but surely Swiatek might tighten as glory beckoned?
No chance. Instead confirmed herself as the sport’s latest sensation by bashing winners for fun.
“A joy to watch,” Tracey Austin, who won the 1979 U.S. Open aged 16, said on Twitter. “Makes it look so easy. More majors ahead!!”
-Reuters
The first round of the French Open starts on Sunday, with Novak Djokovic beginning his hunt for a fourth crown and a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title when he takes on home hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, while world number three Alexander Zverev faces Benjamin Bonzi.
The claycourt Grand Slam starts under a shadow, with some players deciding to restrict their appearances at Friday’s and Saturday’s traditional pre-tournament media days amid growing tensions over prize money and player influence.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: DJOKOVIC V MPETSHI PERRICARD
Djokovic has played just one match since Indian Wells in March, and the 39-year-old will need to quickly shake off any rust when he meets Mpetshi Perricard for the first time in his career in his opening match.
The Serbian has spent the last two years trying to capture a 25th major crown that would move him past Margaret Court to take sole possession of the record, but that quest looks in danger of being prolonged.
“I wanted to play more , but my body was not allowing me. I was going through the rehabilitation process for my injury,” Djokovic told reporters.
“If I’m able to somehow maintain a level of freshness and progress… then I feel like I have always had a very good chance. I have proven that in Australia this year, where I was close to winning another Slam. I always have that belief in me when I’m on the court.”
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: ANDREEVA V FERRO
Russian Mirra Andreeva has had a strong clay season, winning the Linz Open and reaching her first WTA 1000 final at the Madrid Open, while also making it to the semi-finals in Stuttgart and quarter-finals in Rome.
The 19-year-old begins against world number 200 Fiona Ferro of France, and should face little trouble if she can prevent the home fans from affecting her as they did in her quarter-final defeat to Lois Boisson at last year’s tournament.
“Obviously, the crowd is going to support her (Ferro) as much as they can, and that’s totally okay,” Andreeva said.
“I have some experience even from last year when I played quarters, so I pretty much know what to expect… We will see how it’s going to go, but I hope they’re not going to be too hard on me.”
CAN ZVEREV JOIN GRAND SLAM CLUB?
Zverev has been on the verge of a maiden Grand Slam title at many points over his career, reaching three finals and falling just short, and if the German is to finally accomplish the feat, the French Open looks to be his best bet.
The 29-year-old reached the final in Paris in 2024 and has made it to at least the quarter-final stage in seven of the past eight editions, putting him among the favourites this year, especially in the absence of injured world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev begins his campaign against Bonzi, who could prove a tricky customer; however, with the Frenchman being one of only three players to have taken a set off world number one Jannik Sinner during the Italian’s incredible 29-match winning streak.
FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON SUNDAY (prefix number denotes seeding):
COURT PHILIPPE CHATRIER (play begins at 1000 GMT)
- Sinja Kraus (Austria) v 11-Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
- Benjamin Bonzi (France) v 2-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- 8-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v Fiona Ferro (France)
- Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France) v 3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- COURT SUZANNE LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 13-Karen Khachanov (Russia) v Arthur Gea (France)
- 26-Hailey Baptiste (United States) v Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
- 7-Taylor Fritz (U.S.) v Nishesh Basavareddy (U.S.)
- Ksenia Efremova (France) v 18-Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
- COURT SIMONNE MATHIEU (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 15-Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) v Oksana Selekhmeteva (Russia)
- Katie Volynets (U.S.) v Clara Burel (France)
- Titouan Droguet (France) v 26-Jakub Mensik (Czech Republic)
- 28-Joao Fonseca (Brazil) v Luka Pavlovic (France)
-Reuters
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Venus Williams will compete in doubles at the French Open later this month, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.
Williams, 45, will partner with Hailey Baptiste, 24, for the clay-court tournament at Roland Garros, which begins on May 24 in Paris.
Williams, however, will not compete in the singles tournament.
She was a wild-card entry at the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets during the first round to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.
Williams is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles. She has won seven Grand Slam titles in singles and 14 in doubles, including the French Open in doubles in 1999 and 2010.
-Reuters
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Newly-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff, the first Black American to win the title in a decade, said on Saturday her victory in Paris was for people back home who looked like her and struggled amid ongoing political turmoil.
Gauff battled from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 and lift her first French Open crown and her second Grand Slam title after the 2023 U.S. Open.
She is the first Black American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
“It means a lot (to win the title), and obviously there’s a lot going on in our country right now with things — like, everything, yeah. I’m sure you guys know,” she said, smiling but without elaborating further.
“But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don’t feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people.”
There has been ongoing political turmoil in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump last year.
Trump’s first few months in office have featured an unapologetic assault on diversity and inclusion efforts, unravelling decades-old policies to remedy historical injustices for marginalised groups in a matter of weeks.
In his second term, Trump revoked a landmark 1965 executive order mandating equal employment opportunities for all, slashed environmental actions to protect communities of colour and ordered the gutting of an agency that helped fund minority and women-owned businesses.
The actions have alarmed advocates, who say they effectively erase decades of hard-fought progress on levelling the playing field for marginalised communities.
“I remember after the election and everything, it kind of felt a down period a little bit and my mom told me during Riyadh (in November 2024) ‘just try to win the tournament, just to give something for people to smile for’.
“So that’s what I was thinking about today when holding that (trophy).
“Then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot. You know, some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American, and I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.”
Trump has previously denied claims he has employed racist attacks and an agenda throughout his political career.
-Reuters
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