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Wednesday, June 11, 2025

2025 Clay Court Awards: Coco's Café Américain







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Clay Court Top Players list & Ms.Backspin Update: HERE





#1 - THE RISE OF FRANÇAISE FOREHAND ...a year after missing out on her slam debut at RG with a knee injury, #361-ranked French wild card Lois Boisson makes an historic run to the semifinals in Paris in just her second tour-level MD event, upsetting three seeds and two Top 10 players (#3 Pegula, #6 Andreeva), then making a subsequent 296-spot jump in the WTA rankings to #65, the tour's largest rise into the Top 100 this century
#2 - PEAK THUNDER ...the Latvian takes her first clay title since the 2017 RG, becoming the first player in thirteen years to defeat the world #1 (Sabalenka) and #2 (Swiatek, improving to 6-0 vs. Iga) in the same event on clay
#3 - COCO COUTURE ...Gauff completes her Madrid-Rome-Paris final appearance trifecta with a win in the Roland Garros title match over #1 Sabalenka to claim her second major crown
#4 - LIVE LIKE PAOLINI! ...Jasmine Paolini becomes the first Italian woman to win Rome in forty years (Reggi), then claims the doubles title (w/ Errani), as well, to complete the first Italian Open sweep since 1990 (Seles)
#5 - ¡MUY BUENO! ARYNA ...a year after being unable to convert 3 MP in the final in her Madrid title defense, Sabalenka wins the indoor clay event for the third time (odd-year runs in 2021, '23 and '25)
#6 - SARA SWEEPS PARIS ...Sara Errani played what she says is her final singles match during RG qualifying, then she went out and swept the doubles and mixed titles in Paris. Her WD title is her first slam win with Jasmine Paolini (they won Gold in Paris last summer, and defended their Rome title earlier this spring), while the MX is her second in the last three majors with Andrea Vavassori (they also won the Indian Wells exhibition back in March). Errani is a former RG singles finalist (2012), and completed a Career Doubles Slam with Roberta Vinci more than a decade ago.
#7 - KAMIJI'S OPPORTUNISTIC ERA ...once a fairly dominant wheelchair #1 before the rise of Diede de Groot, Yui Kamiji has seized upon the opportunity of a limited (at the Paralympics), absent (year-end Masters, then AO) and now not-100% Dutch star to sweep the last four big wheelchair singles events. In Paris, she claimed both the singles and doubles titles at RG, her first slam sweep since 2020.
#8 - A MAYA JOINT JOINT x 2 ...in Rabat, 19-year old Aussie Maya Joint wins everything, taking the singles and doubles titles in her maiden appearances in a WTA final in both
HM- A TRIPLE CROWN WINNING DASHA ...Dasha Vidmanova claims the NCAA women's singles championship and leads Georgia to the women's team title, completing (w/ her NCAA doubles title from last year) the rare "Triple Crown" for her career. She's just the third woman to do it at the D1 level.



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*REAL PLAYERS OF THE WTA TOUR*

Rouen 1st Rd. - Lois Boisson def. Harriet Dart
...6-0/6-3. And in the reality TV portion of this quarters's tour action, Dart became the target of much criticism after she asked the chair umpire to tell opponent Boisson to wear deodorant (thankfully, she didn't also climb over the net to get at her, or throw a drink in her face or something).



Afterward, Boisson won the unofficial award for the best social media comeback...



While Dart was left to ask for public foregiveness...



After this event, of course, Boisson went on to win a challenger title and then reached the Roland Garros semifinals as a wild card; while Dart didn't win another match the rest of the spring clay season.

The Tennis Gods remain un-de-feated.




*DON'T CALL AN UBER, just get an Elena*







*BEST IGA SWIATEK (aka Toby Kidd?) DOPPELGÄNGER*

Hmmm, maybe this explains a lot. Does anyone believe in the idea of time travel and/or (temporary) bodysnatching?






*COCO GAUFF, STILL COMFORTABLY NORMAL (thank goodness)*







*BEST (accidental?) SHOT*






*LEAST "ACCIDENTAL" SHOT*

Hmmm, blow out an opponent (Anna Blinkova) that you know you won't have to shake hands with at the net, underarm serve her on MP... then win "Shot of the Month? Somehow it feels like this announcement should have rightly come on April 1st rather than April 11.






*AND -- poof! -- IT WAS GONE AGAIN*

It was funny how the #WTRallyTheWorld monstosity of a marketing campaign pretty much completely disappeared from social media for many months, then suddenly rose from its grave at the start of RG with a few videos (Kessler, Shnaider, Haddad Maia, Baptiste and Ostapenko, I think) and then just crawled back down into its dark, musty hole in the ground all over again.



I guess I *kinda* like the initial graphic with the player's name, but (nothing against McCartney, as it was the same in the other videos) you forget you even watched the video two seconds after it concludes.




*BEST (POSTER-WORTHY) ACTION SHOT: MONFILS BEJLEK EDITION*

Sara Bejelk had quite the final month of the clay season, qualifying for RG, notching her first career MD win in a major, winning a 125 title after exiting Paris, *and* being the subject of what might prove to be the Photo of the Year.






*BEST (POSTER-WORTHY) ACTION SHOT II*

As previously noted in this space, Coco Gauff is arguably the most consistently photogenic in-action star in the WTA...






*BEST TROPHY IDEA*

Some make the effort, some don't. Madrid is definitely the former, as the tournament offers a unique trophy *every* year...






*BEST TROPHY CEREMONY PERFORMANCE*

The wryly funny and self-deprecating, but also sweetly introspective on what might have been the most memorable day of her tennis career had things gone another way, stylings of The Bracelet herself, Aleksandra Krunic...



BTW, I loved how she started walking back and forth "mid-set" with the microphone, gathering herself, like she was a stand-up talking to the crowd at a comedy club.










MOST IMPROVED DOUBLES
1. Hailey Baptiste, USA 1. Errani/Paolini, ITA/ITA
2. Lois Boisson, FRA 2. Cirstea/Kalinskaya, ROU/RUS
3. Victoria Mboko, CAN 3. V.Kudermetova/Mertens, RUS/BEL
4. Maya Joint, AUS 4. Eric Routliffe, NZL
5. Sara Bejlek, CZE 5. Aleksandra Krunic, SRB
6. Emiliana Arango, COL 6. Ostapenko/Routliffe, LAT/NZL
7. Leyre Romero Gormaz, ESP 7. Dabrowski/Routliffe, CAN/NZL
8. Moyuka Uchijima, JPN 8. Danilina/Krunic, KAZ/SRB
9. Anca Todoni, ROU 9. Cristina Bucsa, ESP
10. Tiantsoah Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah, FRA 10. Babos/Stefani, HUN/BR
11. Yuliia Starodubtseva, UKR HM- Eikeri/Hozumi, NED/JPN
12. Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, AND HM- M.Andreeva/Shnaider, RUS/RUS




ITF TEAM
1. Mayar Sherif, EGY 1. Errani/Vavassori, ITA/ITA (MX)
2. F.Jorge/M.Jorge, POR/POR 2. ESP BJK Cup
3. Anastasia Zakharova, RUS 3. GBR BJK Cup
4. Julia Grabher, AUT 4. NED WC World Team Cup
5. Anna Bondar, HUN 5. JPN BJK Cup
HM- Wakana Sonobe, JPN HM- Georgia Bulldogs (NCAA)
HM- Iva Jovic, USA HM- Townsend/King, USA/USA (MX)




COACH [PLAYER]
1. Matt Daly [Gauff]
2. Marc Lopez [Paolini]
3. M.Knowles/M.Merklein [Pegula]
4. Anton Dubrov [Sabalenka]
5. Blaž Kavčič [Stearns]
6. Pere Riba [Zheng]
7. Andrew Bettles [Svitolina]
8. Conchita Martinez [M.Andreeva]
9. Igor Andreev [Alexandrova]
10. E.Hechtman/F.Tiafoe [Baptiste]
HM- Patrick Mouratoglou [Osaka]




WHEELCHAIR JUNIOR
1. Yui Kamiji, JPN 1. Lilli Tagger, AUT
2. Li Xiaohui, CHN 2. Julieta Pareja, USA
3. Aniek Van Koot, NED 3. Penickova/Penickova, USA/USA
4. Kamiji/Montjane, JPN/RSA 4. Hannah Klugman, GBR
5. Vitoria Miranda, BRA (jr) 5. Bennemann/Zhenikhova, GER/GER
6. Zhu Zhenzhen, CHN 6. Kovackova/Kovackova,CZE/CZE
7. Li/Wang, CHN/CHN 7. Charo Esquiva Banuls, ESP
8. Diede de Groot, NED 8. Julia Stusek, GER
HM- Gryp/Miranda, BEL/BRA (jr) 9. Luna Vujovic, SRB
-- 10. Rositsa Dencheva, BUL
-- HM- Ksenia Efremova, FRA




TOP BJK Q PLAYERS TOP BJK Q CAPTAINS
1. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, ESP 1. Carla Suarez Navarro, ESP
2. Moyuka Uchijima, JPN 2. Anne Keothavong, GBR
3. Elina Svitolina, UKR 3. Ai Sugiyama, JPN
4. Sonay Kartal, GBR 4. Lindsay Davenport, USA
5. Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN 5. Illya Marchenko, UKR
6. Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN 6. Elise Tamaela, NED (L)
7. Boulter/Burrage, GBR 7. Heidi El Tabakh, CAN (L)
8. Victoria Mboko, CAN 8. Matej Liptak, SVK (L)
9. Suzan Lamens, NED HM- Yuriy Schukin, KAZ
10. Elena Rybakina, KAZ
HM- Pera/USA, Bucsa/ESP,

Baptiste/USA, Putintseva/KAZ,

Vedder/NED, Naef/SUI











1. Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Elena Rybakina
...1-6/6-3/7-5.
So we finally found out what it would take to shake some sense into Swiatek between the lines of a tennis court.

For most of the #5-seeded, three-time defending and four-time Roland Garros champion's 4th Round match vs. #12 Rybakina, the bizarro world in which the former #1 has been residing over the past twelve months had finally intruded upon her "sacred ground." Sure, the Pole lost on the terre battue in Paris during last year's Olympics, but that's a "footnote tournament." This was Roland-bleepin'-Garros, where Swiatek virtually made her name, built the foundation of the eventual Hall of Fame career, and even celebrates her birthday every May.

What Rybakina was doing to her for a set and change on Day 8 was almost offensive in that light. It was as if she'd stormed into Swiatek's home, raided her panty, prepared herself a meal and sat down right in front of Iga and started to gobble it down... after taking a fork from Swiatek's grasp to eat it all with, while Iga could only look on helplessly.

Swiatek had suffered some truly awful loses of late, including on her favored clay this spring. But not at Roland Garros. This was an entirely different animal. While Rybakina had won seven straight clay matches this season, Swiatek had won *24* straight in RG play since 2022, was closing in on the all-time women's streak record of 29 (a 44-year old mark held by Chris Evert) as well as getting ever more near to getting the chance to become the first in the Open era to win the women's title four straight years.

But there was Rybakina, rocking Swiatek's world. Right out of the gate, the Kazakh was dominant. Up love/40 in Swiatek's first service game, she broke to lead 2-0. Swiatek tried serving bigger, but it didn't help. Rybakina's big shots continued to overwhelm her. 4-0. 5-0. Suddenly, everyone had to look up Swiatek's last love set lost at RG (vs. Simona Halep, 2019 4r). The Pole was bageled by Madison Keys in a set earlier this spring, and nearly so by both Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins, as well. But this was Roland Garros.

Rybakina held a SP to win 6-0, but couldn't pull it off. Swiatek DF'd on a GP in game 6, but held to get on the board. Rybakina won the 1st set 6-1, "bullying" (in the words of TNT's Lindsay Davenport) the defending champ on her favorite surface on her favorite court, and didn't seem phased by much of anything early in the 2nd, either.



Swiatek double-faulted to lose the opening game of the set at love, then saw Rybakina hold at love to lead 2-0. Was this how the streak was going to end, with a funereal silence on Chatrier and all the headlines and dark comments about Swiatek's ongoing plight that would come along with it?

But then something weird happened. Swiatek tried something different. She took a few steps back to return Rybakina's big serve, giving herself time to get a look at it and get into the rally, where she likely could carve out an advantage. It seems like a small, sensible and common in-match alteration of tactics against a big hitter when things aren't going well, but Swiatek has seemingly (stubbornly) refused to do it in such situations for well on more than a year, hoping to outduel her opponent or betting on her cracking in order to turn the tide. It's worked out for her on occasion, but why not give it a chance more often? It's been a lingering mystery, through two different coaching regimes, as Swiatek has often fallen victim, or struggled to pull out victories, against foes who hit deep and hard and don't give her much time to react.

Apparently, the notion of being embarrased and ridden out of Roland Garros in a clown car was finally enough to properly view what has been a reality all along.

With her blinders finally off, though Rybakina didn't suddenly become a pushover as a result, things started to slowly turn in Swiatek's favor.

She reached BP on Rybakina serve in game 4. The Kazakh erased it with a big serve, but on BP #2 Rybakina avoided hitting an overhead volley into the open court and instead tried to direct the ball behind a scrambling Swiatek on the baseline. The ball flew out, putting the 2nd back on serve. A game later, Swiatek held in a long service game in which she faced an early BP, had multiple DF (plus two more BP) and traversed six deuce points en route to a hold and her first lead at 3-2. Another break of Rybakina's serve made it 4-2, as the Pole won the set 6-3 to knot the match.

Rybakina seemed to push Swiatek near the match edge in the 3rd, and briefly had a chance to force the four-time champ to a familiar place where she's often looked panicked in the past against big hitters like herself. She just needed a lead that would make Swiatek play from behind, vs. a streaking opponent, with almost-sure defeat "visible from here" without a tennis miracle suddenly taking place.

Rybakina held for 3-2 when Swiatek netted an easy volley, then violently slammed her racket down in anger on the net cord (she received no warning from chair umpire Kader Nouni). Rybakina grabbed a 15/40 lead on Iga's serve in the following game, one point from a 4-2 and serving for 5-2 edge that would *truly* test Swiatek's mettle. If she could only...



But rather than "put Iga in the corner," Rybakina saw Swiatek fight her way out of one, saving three BP and tie the score at 3-all. Reinvigorated, Swiatek fired a series of deep returns (two off the baseline) and took at 15/40 lead in game 7, breaking to assume the overall match lead for the first time at 4-3.

Rybakina still had time of her own, and took advantage with a love/30 lead, then BP chances at 15/40 after stepping in and whacking a return winner. A Swiatek DF on BP #2 put the set back on serve, giving the Kazakh another chance to see the finish line and dare Swiatek to keep her crossing it. Rybakina nearly gave the break back, DF'ing on BP only to see Nouni overrule the call and present her with a lifeline. She grabbed it, holding to take a 5-4 lead.

But after maneuvering her way through what had become a tricky spot, Rybakina threw in a clunker of a game at precisely the worst time. A poor drop shot attempt landed at mid-court, allowing Swiatek to put it away for a 15/40 lead. Rybakina's forehand error a point later gave Iga a 6-5 lead and put the match on her racket.

Having overcome a would-be disastrous start, and having survived nearly slipping down another frustration-filled hole that again put her on the brink of defeat in the 3rd set, Swiatek now only needed to hold to keep her latest Roland Garros dream alive. She did just that, winning 1-6/6-3/7-5.



With her 25th straight RG victory, Swiatek takes the head-to-head lead (at 5-4, 3-0 in '25) over Rybakina, and gets her first win over the on clay (the Kazakh had been 2-0, and the only player with multiple wins over her on the surface).
===============================================


2. Madrid QF - Aryna Sabalenka def. Marta Kostyuk
...7-6(4)/7-6(7). Sometimes less *is* more, but that's especially so if the "less" is two dramatic tie-break sets rather than a three-setter with little close competition and/or few big points.

Sabalenka prevailed despite Kostyuk holding SP in both sets, one when serving at 5-4 in the 1st and, after the world #1 had rallied from an early break down and held a MP while serving for the win at 6-5, three in the 2nd set TB before Sabalenka again finished strong to close out the final women's QF in a rainy Madrid.

The weather had forced the closing of the roof in the TB... though it should have happened earlier, which would have avoided a mini-drama when Sabalenka wouldn't hit a second serve into heavy rainfall when down 4-5. When play resumed, the chair umpire's decision to give Sabalenka a first serve was, well, questionable at best. Kostyuk still managed to reach SP after the situation, but couldn't force a decider.


===============================================



3. Rome 4th Rd. - Peyton Stearns def. Naomi Osaka
...6-4/3-6/7-6(4). Stearns has had issues over the past year when it's come to winning three-setters, but she seemed firmly in her element this time around.

Osaka, who came in riding a career-best eight match winning streak on clay, held an early break lead in the decider; then with Stearns having tied things up at 4-4, Osaka had five BP chances before the Bannerette held to keep things on serve. The former Texas Longhorn had one final comeback in her, as she rallied from 4-2 down in the tie-break, sweeping the final five points to get the victory.

Needless to say, Stearns gave her all in this one, inside and out. She threw up *twice* en route to the win.


===============================================



4. Rome QF - Peyton Stearns def. Elina Svitolina
...6-2/4-6/7-6(4). It took until one o'clock in the morning, but Stearns finally outlasted Svitolina to win her third straight 3rd set TB, a career-altering moment that assured her of a maiden 1000 SF and first career seed at a major in Paris.

Before that all came to fruition, though, Stearns had to recover from losing a 6-2/4-2 edge over Svitolina.



Having escaped a straight sets loss, Svitolina seemed to be set to run away with the 3rd. She took a double-break 3-0 lead in the decider, then -- after the Bannerette had gotten the set back on serve -- briefly reclaimed a break edge (at 4-3) before being forced into a final tie-break. Stearns had one more deficit to overcome, rallying from a mini-break down at 3-1, ultimately sweeping the final four points to notch a 7-4 win in the breaker.



Unfortunately for Stearns, the tough road to earn her maiden seed at a slam ended with the Bannerette being dumped out in the 1st Round in Paris a few weeks later.
===============================================
5. BJK Cup Qualifiers RR (A) Match #1 - Victoria Mboko/CAN def. Ena Shibahara/JPN 6-4/6-7(8)/7-5
...Mboko was the second Canadian teen (after Marina Stakusic in the '23 Finals) to have a breakout Cup week in three years. Here she completed her undefeated Qualifiers stint by taking a 2:49 classic.

Mboko had three MP in the 2nd set TB, but saw Shibahara force a 3rd and take a 3-1 lead. Mboko battled back and held three more MP at 5-4. Shibhara again denied her the win, but the Canadian finally got over the line on MP #7 to win the decider 7-5.


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6. Rome 4th Rd. - Aryna Sabalenka def. Marta Kostyuk
...6-1/7-6(8). Sabalenka vs. Kostyuk. A great series in search of a 3rd set.

The four-match head-to-head between these two, though Sabalenka has won all four matches and Kostyuk has yet to win a set, is still one of the more compelling clashes you'll see on tour at the moment. While the politically-charged subtext of the match-up remains, it's been the intense emotions and shot-making of the two that have propelled the action, leading to three tie-breaks in their last four sets in back-to-back events this spring.

After prevailing in the Madrid QF in two tie-breaks, Sabalenka prevented the first 3rd set between the two by first erasing Kostyuk's 4-3 (and serving two) mini-break in the 2nd set TB in Rome. Late in the breaker, the two traded off MP/SP before Sabalenka, who'd saved a SP at 7-6, finally won 10-8 on her third MP (w/ a perfectly executed drop shot!) to end a 94-minute 2nd set.

If these two ever go three, buckle in and prepare for a potential classic. If.


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7. Rome SF - Coco Gauff def. Zheng Qinwen
...7-6(3)/4-6/7-6(4). While the level of play fluctuated (the two combined for 49 winners, but both also had 70+ UE) and momentum was a seesaw force throughout this semi, the fight was there until what would be the bitter end for one.

In what would turn out to be the longest WTA MD match so far in 2025 at 3:32, Gauff and Zheng exchanged breaks four times (with a hold in between each combination) in the 1st set, first with Gauff grabbing the lead, then Zheng, then Gauff, then Zheng again before Gauff ultimately prevailed in a 7-3 TB.

Having forced a 3rd, Zheng served for the win at 5-3 but couldn't close the deal. Gauff forced yet another TB, pulling away late to win 7-4 to become the seventh woman to pull off the Madrid/Rome final combo in a single season (since Madrid joined the schedule in '09).

Of the seven, only Gauff and Ons Jabeur have never (so far, at least) been ranked #1, while four of the previous six who reached both finals went on to play in the RG title match a few weeks later, too. After losing in the title matches of both Madrid and Rome, Gauff became the fifth to complete the trio with a final in Paris, where she flipped the script and *won* to pick up her second major title.


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8. Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Paula Badosa def. Naomi Osaka
...6-7(1)/6-1/6-4. ...though neither are at their *best* on clay, #10 Badosa vs. Osaka was nevertheless one of the highlight match-ups of the 1st Round in Paris. It lived up to the maybe inappropriate hype, though, and gave one hope for *both* women.

Osaka arrived on the best clay court run of her career after she'd lost early in Madrid and dropped down to play a 125 event at Saint-Malo, where she won her first career clay title and then carried that momentum to a Round of 16 in Rome; while Badosa arrived having won just one match (via a retirement, no less) since Miami in March, with her only action being two matches in Strasbourg after a recurrence of her back issues not long after her first career slam SF result at the AO in January (her fourth straight progessively better result at a major: 3r-4r-QF-SF from the '24 RG forward).

In a big-hitting face-off, Badosa served for the 1st set at 6-5, holding a SP, but Osaka got the break and took a 7-1 TB. The Spaniard responded brilliantly, running to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd (w/ a SP for a love set) before winning 6-1. The two exchanged breaks in games 2 and 3 in the 3rd, then Badosa grabbed a break edge at 4-3.

A game later, Osaka nearly leveled the set again, holding a BP before Badosa got the hold for a 5-3 lead. Two games later, she served things out at love to win 6-7(1)/6-1/6-4.



The win helped Badosa hold onto her Top 10 ranking as she left Paris while, even with the loss, Osaka rose over .500 in Paris at 8-7 for her career, though she hasn't been past the 2nd Round since 2019.
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*ALONA BEING ALONA: STUTTGART EDITION*




Stuttgart QF - Alona Ostapenko def. Iga Swiatek
...6-3/3-6/6-2. In case you haven't heard, Alona is pretty confident when she plays Iga. We saw it again in Stuttgart in their first clay court meeting.

Though she didn't "feel" her game in the 2nd set, Ostapenko jumped right back into groove in the 3rd to improve her career record to 6-0 in her head to head with Swiatek, becoming the first player to defeat the former #1 on hard court, grass and clay in her career.






*FORESHADOWING IN 3, 2, 1...*




Madrid QF - Iga Swiatek def. Madison Keys
...0-6/6-3/6-2. Well-earned kudos went out to Swiatek from many corners -- including, as usual, the she-walks-on-water contingent who bend the knee at the slightest provocation -- for recovering from dropping a love 1st set. But the more pertinent headline here wasn't about the comeback but the fact that she actually dropped a love set on clay, her first since 2019, in the first place.





And that notion of portending doom was backed up just one day later...



Madrid SF - Coco Gauff def. Iga Swiatek
...6-1/6-1. First off, Gauff played great. But just like with the love set won by Keys a round earlier, Swiatek getting run off the court on her favorite surface should never happen in this way and she bears much -- if not the majority -- of the blame for as much. For if the Pole is whom she is *supposed* to be, this type of thing would simply never happen.

For Gauff, though, it turned out to the light that supercharged the clay spring of what has mostly been a "meh" season, ala her Cincinnati win over Iga (her first ever) led into a U.S. Open title run to close out the summer of 2023. Of course, Coco went on to reach the Rome final, as well, then won Roland Garros.

Gauff had never gotten a set off Swiatek in five meetings on clay prior to this, yet led 6-1/5-0 here. This marks her third straight win over Swiatek, against whom she'd once been 0-7 without a single set claimed (and that was less than two years ago).



And that wasn't the end...



Rome 3rd Rd. - Danielle Collins def. Iga Swiatek
...6-1/7-5. As it turned out, the gathering of Cardinals in Vatican City to elect a new pope wasn't the only necessary conclave during this year's visit to Rome. An Iga Conclave at least *should* have been on the agenda, as well, because, you know, it happened again.

Of course, by now a loss from the former #1 and three-time Rome champ isn't really a shock. They've come more and more often, often in uglier and uglier fashion. At least this time it was against a big hitter, though Swiatek had previously been 7-1 against the Collins. Their last meeting had come on clay at the Olympics. You probably remember that one as the match in which Collins crossed over afterward to Swiatek's side of the court upon retiring in the 3rd set and having a "private conversation" in which she told her not to be "insincere" (Collins said she "didn't need the fakeness") when commenting about the abdominal injury that forced the early end of the match.

No such theatrics were in play here, largely because Swiatek was never in the match. Again. Just like in her exit match in Madrid vs. Coco Gauff. At times, Swiatek was truly awful here, especially on serve. She had a 36% first serve percentage in the 1st set (and won just 2 of 14 second serves), and though she improved on her first serve in the 2nd she was still a winner on just 31% (4/13) of second serves in what would be the final (though closer) stanza. Meanwhile, Collins converted on 8 of 10 BP chances.



What came next? The trip to Paris could might have proven to be very redemptive and restorative, or truly worrisome. It ended up being a mixed bag, as Swiatek managed to reach the semifinals, having escaped Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16 when she -- finally! -- decided to take a few steps back in the baseline in order to not be gobbled up by the Kazakh's serve and penetrating groundstrokes (quite possibly saving Wim Fissette's coaching position, at least for now?). The tactic worked vs. Aryna Sabalenka in the SF, too, after Swiatek had gotten off to a bad start vs. the world #1. She forced a 3rd set, then... well.

Sabalenka ended that match by winning 19 of the final 21 points and commmitting zero unforced errors in the set, winning 7-6(1)/4-6/6-0.



The love set lost was the first by Swiatek at Roland Garros since her very first defeat in the tournament, in the 4th Round vs. Simona Halep in 2019. With the loss, the Pole's three-year RG reign came to a close, along with her 26-match slam winning streak in Paris. Her stretch of no appearances in finals has reached a full year, she's 0-5 in semifinals this season, and 0-7 since winning for her fourth RG title last year.

Under the watchful eye of coach Wim Fissette since October, Swiatek has fallen from the #1 ranking to #7.














1. Rome QF - Jasmine Paolini def. Diana Shnaider
...6-7(1)/6-4/6-2. Eventual Rome champion Paolini wins a match of swinging momentum and emotion, helped along the way by an expectedly partisan crowd.

After Shnaider had rallied from 0-4 down to take the 1st set, Paolini did the same in the 2nd. The Italian was twice a point away from a 5-1 deficit on Shnaider's serve, but broke the Hordette on her fifth BP chance and went on to win six straight games to end the set.

After falling behind 0-2 in the 3rd, Paolini *again* won six games in a row to close out the match as Shnaider more and more let the crowd get to her (and for some reason even stoked the fire on occasion) and erode her concentration.

Oh, well. Lesson learned (one would hope... and, if so, maybe she'll impart her new knowledge on the subject to her doubles partner, Mirra Andreeva, who later experienced a similar fate in Paris).


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2. Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Elina Svitolina def. Jasmine Paolini
...2-6/7-6(6)/6-1. Svitolina *knows* about losing big leads at Roland Garros, see her crushing QF defeat at the hands of Simona Halep in 2017 after holding a set and 5-1 lead (and having a MP). So when she fell behind #13 Jasmine Paolini by a score of 6-2/5-3 here, intellectually, she *knew* she could still win.

When the Italian, a '24 RG finalist, held two MP up 5-4 and 15/40 on the Ukrainian's serve, Svitolina had no reason to think it was over. Not *over* over, at least. She upped her aggression, something which was always necessary years ago in order for her get over her particular "hump" in majors, and things started to work in her favor. She forced a 2nd set TB, and led it 4-2. But when Paolini rallied to hold a third MP at 6-5, it seemed it might finally be a bridge too far. But it wasn't for Svitolina.

Rushing to the net to put away a volley winner to save MP #3 not only turned the TB in Svitolina's favor, but what remained of the match. She won the breaker 8-6, and raced out to a 4-0 3rd set lead vs. her surely-down-in-the-dumps (yes, even the normally-upbeat Jasmine) opponent. Svitolina knows the feeling. Reaching a MP of her own, the Ukrainian fired a backhand into the corner to complete her escape and reach her fifth QF at Roland Garros, winning 2-6/7-6(6)/6-1.


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Moyuka Magic You don't see too many players pull off a comeback from 1-6, 1-5 down. But, that's exactly what Japan's #1 player did today in Rouen, digging out of a massive deficit to defeat Dove brand ambassador Lois Boisson, 1-6, 7-64, 6-1. Uchijima moves forward to face Danilovic or Fruhvirtova

[image or embed]

— Tick Tock Tennis (@ticktocktennis.bsky.social) April 17, 2025 at 10:51 AM


3. Rouen 2nd Rd. - Moyuka Uchijima def. Lois Boisson
...1-6/7-6(4)/6-4. Coming a round after the "Dart incident," this was a loss that'll had to make the Pastry sweat. (Sorry.)

Uchijima trailed Boisson 6-1/5-1, and saw the Pastry serve at 5-2 (w/ a MP) and 5-4.



With this match coming in the weeks prior to Roland Garros, Boisson clearly brushed this loss off pretty quickly, I'd say. To say the least.
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4. Roland Garros 3rd Rd. - Madison Keys def. Sofia Kenin
...4-6/6-3/7-5. Kenin had won the 1st set by playing all the big points better. Keys had claimed her first two serve games at love, and maintained that lead in total points throughout the set, but saw Kenin break for a 4-3 lead then later serve out a game to take the lead when she converted on her fourth SP chance.

Keys, 0/5 on BP chances, finally broke to grab the lead at 4-2 in the 2nd, and held to knot that match soon afterward. In the decider, Kenin broke in game 2 and led 3-0. Keys got the set back on serve at 3-2.

Serving down 5-4, Keys had to fight off three MP. Finally winning the match's big points, the AO champ held in what was a five-deuce game. With the timing perfectly horrible for Kenin, she had to head immediately into a service game after having been unable to close out the match. Not shockingly, she was broken at 15, then saw Keys comes back after the changeover and serve out a 4-6/6-3/7-5 for her tenth straight win in slam play in 2025.


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5. BJK Cup Qualifiers RR (A) Match #2 - Moyuka Uchijima/JPN def. Anca Todoni/ROU 3-6/7-6(3)/6-2
...Uchijima's 2-0 week included a tie-clinching comeback win from 6-3/4-1 down vs. Todoni, who had two MP at 5-4 in the 2nd set.


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6. Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Tereza Valentova def. Chloe Paquet
...4-6/6-3/7-5. ...with this comeback by Valentova, another member of the Crush of Czechs recorded her maiden slam MD win, following in the footsteps of 19-year old countrywoman Sara Bejlek earlier in the tournament. Here it was time for 18-year old Valentova to shine.



Less than a year after sweeping the RG junior s/d crowns, Valentova had qualified to reach her maiden slam MD. She trailed France's Chloe Paquet 5-2 in the 3rd here, and saw the Pastry get within two points of victory, serving up 5-3, 30/love. But the world #172, who had already won a pair of $75K challengers this season, didn't go down without a fight. Then she didn't go out at all. Valentova rallied to claim the final five games of the match to get her first major match win.

And so it begins?


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7. Strasbourg 1st Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Clara Tauson
...3-6/6-4/7-5. There's needing a win, and *badly* needing a win. Haddad Maia was the latter coming into this match.

Tauson had the Brazilian, 3-14 on the year and 1-11 in her last 12, on the hook for another crushing defeat, holding two MP at 5-4 in the 3rd set. But it would be Haddad Maia who'd dole out the crushing defeat to the Dane, sweeping the final four games to win in 2:44 and kick off what *could* ultimately be a week that serves as the light in the darkness for her 2025 season.


Strasbourg QF - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Emma Navarro
...3-6/7-6(3)/6-2. Having come back from MP down vs. the Dane, Navarro was easier pickings for the Brazilian.

The Bannerette served for the win at 6-5 in the 2nd set, but saw Haddad Maia get the break and go on to win eight of the last ten games in the match to get her first Top 10 victory since defeating Maria Sakkari in Madrid last year.
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To take a lead on Anastasia Potapova can be lethal... to you.

8. Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Clara Tauson
...2-6/7-6(8)/6-3. Potapova prevails after saving a MP at 8-7 in the 2nd set TB, winning 10-8 and going on to eliminate Tauson in three. The Dane's loss prevented her third match-up of the season vs. Aryna Sabalenka in the 2nd Round (they were tied at 1-1).




Madrid 3rd Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Sofia Kenin
...3-6/6-4/7-6(6). Potapova pulls this one back from the edge of defeat by overcoming a 3-1 3rd set deficit and saving a pair of MP in the deciding TB. Down 6-4, Potapova swept the final four points to reach her first 1000 Round of 16 in fourteen months.




Rome 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Dayana Yastremska
...2-6/7-6(6)/6-3. Yastremska led 6-2/3-0, and held a MP at 6-5 in the 2nd set TB before Potapova stormed back to win a tour-best *third* match this season after being down MP.




Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Linda Noskova
...5-7/6-1/7-5. The Hordette already led the tour in 2025 with her three MD victories after being MP down. She didn't face a MP here vs. #29-seed Linda Noskova, but she did trail 5-2 in the 3rd set vs. the Czech, who served for the win at 5-3. Potapova got the break there, and shut out Noskova the rest of the way, breaking again to take a 6-5 lead and then serving out the victory.


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9. Roland Garros Q1 - Bianca Andreescu def. Yao Xinxin 6-0/6-0
Roland Garros Q2 - Nao Nibino def. Bianca Andreescu 2-6/7-6(5)/6-4
...Andreescu has reached the 3rd Round in Paris the last two years, but couldnt' get out of 2025 despite a spectacular match-and-a-half start.

To open things, the Canadian had her first career double-bagel victory. But against veteran Hibino, she couldn't put away the match despite leading 6-2/5-3, holding a MP in game #8 of the 2nd and then serving for the win a game later.

Andreescu got another chance to wrap things up, leading 5-2 in the 2nd set TB, only to lose the last five points and go on to lose in three, riding a break for a 3-2 lead all the way to the finish.
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10. Stuttgart 1st Rd. - Ella Seidel def. Tatjana Maria
...3-6/7-6(2)/6-3. In a multi-generational German clash, lucky loser Seidel outlasts 37-year old Maria, who served for the win at 6-3/6-5.

At 20, Seidel is 17 years Maria's junior, and only nine years older than Tatjana's first-born daughter.


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HM- Rome 1st Rd. - Antonia Ruzic def. Tyra Caterina Grant
...3-6/6-3/7-5. Former Bannerette Grant makes her debut under the Italian flag, in Italy. It went pretty well, then it didn't.



The 17-year old took the 1st, then led 5-3 in the 3rd, holding two MP on Ruzic's serve before getting the chance to serve it out on her own a game later. Instead, she never won another game.


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*AND ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD*



Roland Garros Q1 - Sara Errani def. Jule Niemeier 0-6/7-6(4)/6-2
Roland Garros Q2 - Anna-Lena Friedsam def. Sara Errani 1-6/6-0/7-6(10-7)
...a singles finalist at Roland Garros thirteen years ago, Errani said that these would be the last singles matches of her career (we'll see). Both were dramatic (and vs. Germans).

Against Niemeier, the 38-year old lost the first seven games of the match, then climbed out of a 6-0/5-2 crater. Niemeier served for the win at 5-3, but Errani rallied and won a TB to force a 3rd set. The Italian converted on her sixth MP chance in the final game of the decider.

A round later, it was Errani who lost a 2-0 3rd set lead, failing to convert a MP at 5-4 before *losing* a deciding MTB to her second straight German opponent.



Errani didn't mourn her singles career for long, as she didn't lose a match the rest of her time in Paris, sweeping the women's doubles *and* mixed doubles titles.












1. Roland Garros 4th Rd. - Lois Boisson def. Jessie Pegula
...3-6/6-4/6-4. This year in Paris, we found out what we missed *last* year.

In 2024, Boisson was an athletic Pastry looking to take a bite out of the world on the big stage. With multiple challenger titles and a quickly rising ranking (#152 before Roland Garros), she was set to make her slam MD debut in Paris as a wild card before a knee injury a week before the start of play set her career back nine months and delayed her introduction to the tennis world for a full year.

Well, everyone sees her now.

Even while #3 seed Pegula seemed to be outplaying her in their Round of 16 match-up, Boisson got off to a decent start in the 1st set. She held an on-serve lead at 3-2, but the #3 seed reeled things back in down the stretch, winning 15 of the final 18 points en route to a 6-3 win.

Then, lo and behold, Boisson again held a 3-2 edge in the 2nd, but this time the lead didn't feel so tenuous. The Pastry's hard topspin groundstrokes -- especially her favored inside out forehand -- began to help her take advantage of Pegula's (though-improved) still wanting clay court movement. Boisson began to find some traction in the Bannerette's service games and, with Pegula missing on several first serves, broke to take another 3-2 lead, and even though she gave the break back a game it was still the French player who was clearly gathering some momentum.

Boisson put still more pressure on Pegula's long serve in game 7, holding two BP before the U.S. veteran finally held on her third GP to lead 4-3. But Pegula couldn't hold the wild card off two games later, and Boisson got the break that gave her a chance to serve out the set. She did so, at love, winning 6-4.

Come the 3rd set, with the late-arriving Chatrier fans finally in their seats to offer her the sort of support that a French player is expected to receive in Paris, Boisson was starting to believe that the match might not just turn out to be an exercise in gaining experience for the future. She broke Pegula to open the set, and held to lead 2-0, running her winning streak to five consecutive games.

Pegula got the set back on serve, but the two were still knotted at 4-4 later in the set. The big tests were about to come, for both women.

In the ninth game, Boisson found an opening on Pegula's serve at 15/30, but the Bannerette would hold three GP for a 5-4 lead before she ever faced a BP. She'd end up seeing Boisson hold four. The French woman ran around a Pegula serve, stepping back into the doubles alley in order to fire off a forehand. But it went long. Pegula's big shots saved the second, while Boisson missed on a nervous-looking angled lob on the third. But on #4, Pegula netted a forehand that put Boisson up 5-4 with the chance to become the first wild card to reach the RG quarterfinals since Mary Pierce (by then just two years removed from being the women's champ in Paris) in 2002.

Boisson quickly went up 30/love, but two points later DF'd to level the game at 30-all. This time, after playing a bit too tentatively, it'd be Boisson who'd be tasked with saving four BP. She got lucky on the first, with a successful drop shot off a framed mishit, then found her groove with a perfect lob over Pegula on the second. A forehand winner denied the third, then Pegula pushed her reply to a drop shot wide on #4.

With the dream suddenly coming close to being true, Boisson directed a high volley drop shot into the forecourt, and Pegula couldn't scramble and slide across the terre battue well enough to pull off a winner, instead firing her shot into the net to give Boisson a MP. A forehand winner down the line completed the year-long circle for Boisson, as she went from disappointed (and injured) would-be wild card to the most successful French player at this year's Roland Garros, reaching the QF in her maiden slam MD with a 3-6/6-4/6-4 win over the world #3 on the biggest court at her dream event.



At #361, Boisson became the lowest-ranked woman to reach a major QF since 2017, then followed up with a QF win over #6 Mirra Andreeva to become the lowest-ranked slam semifinalist (not counting a few unranked former champions on the comeback path) in four decades.


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2. Roland Garros Wheelchair 1st Rd. - Li Xiaohui def. Diede de Groot
...6-2/6-4. First off, a reminder of what happened a little over a year earlier...



This year at RG, Li was at it again, this time ending de Groot's 52-match winning streak in slam play via a very similar scoreline in this year's RG opener for both women.



De Groot's exit came as both a surprise and, well, not-THAT-much of one. Of course, for quite a few years it's been a surprise *any* time she loses, but she's still in the very early stages of her comeback from hip surgery, *and* Li has been the breakout player amongst the rollers in 2025, rising to #4 in the rankings and with this having posted wins over the #1 (Yui Kamiji), #2 (Aniek Van Koot) and #3-ranked (de Groot) players in the WC rankings.

Still, de Groot had been 7-0 in limited action in the first few weeks of her return, and had beaten Li in a singles final two weeks earlier in three sets. De Groot still has a 4-2 career edge vs. Li in their head-to-head, but the 25-year old from China has made the very most of her two (streak-ending) victories over the active wheelchair legend.

De Groot had been crowned champion at the last fifteen slam singles events she'd played, hadn't lost in a major since the 2020 Roland Garros (SF-Momoko Ohtani) and hadn't had a one-and-out slam journey since AO20 (a loss to Zhu Zhenzhen). De Groot had at least reached the final in 26 of her last 28 majors (winning 23), and at 26 of 30 during her career.
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3. Rouen 1st Rd. - Tiatsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah def. Lucia Bronzetti
...6-2/6-3. The 19-year old Pastry (#291) made her tour-level MD debut a victorious one, notching her first Top 100 win in her first attempt vs. such an opponent.

She got her second (over Jaqueline Cristian) in the 2nd Round.


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4. BJK Cup Qualifiers RR (E) Match #1 - Celine Naef/SUI def. Marta Kostyuk/UKR 6-4/7-6(1)
...Naef gets her first career Cup win (w/o needing a rubbing-it-in underhand serve, too!) and, albeit briefly, delayed the Ukrainian celebration in Radom.


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10. Roland Garros 1st Rd. - Sara Bejlek def. Marta Kostyuk
...6-3/6-1. Kostyuk posted QF and 4th Round results, respectively, in Madrid and Rome, pushing Aryna Sabalenka in a pair of dramatic two-set matches that the Ukrainian lost, but only after playing three tie-breaks over four sets and making the world #1 bring her best in order to prevail.

Kostyuk came into Paris as the #26 seed, with a possible face off with three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek awaiting in the 3rd Round. But that never happened, as Kostyuk would suffer a shockingly quick loss to the qualifier Czech, as Bejlek finally notched her maiden slam MD win in her sixth career appearance in a major.



Kostyuk reached the Round of 16 in Paris back in 2021, but this one-and-done dropped her record to 1-4 in the years since.
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All for now.
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2 comments:

  1. DianeWed Jun 11, 07:43:00 PM EDT

    I hadn't seen that wonderful photo of Bejlek! I'm guessing she has regular yoga practice. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Todd.SpikerSun Jun 15, 08:19:00 PM EDT

    About that...

    I never said anything about that photo during RG because I only saw a very tiny shot of it included amongst others early on in the event and never gave it a second thought, then about mid-way through RG saw that story on the site talking about it "going viral" or something about all the attention it has supposedly gotten. And, I thought, I'd barely seen anything about it... and they hadn't even really highlighted it in RG social media, either.

    It *is* a great photo, though. ;)

    ReplyDelete