Sunday, June 08, 2025

Au Revoir, Paris











=DAY 15 NOTES=
...before an update on the new rankings and where things stand in 2025, the women still had one more thing to decide in Paris on Sunday (and a few others elsewhere)...



#2 seeds Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini finally claimed their first major as a pair, back on the same court where they took the Olympic Gold last summer, prevailing 6-4/2-6/6-1 over Anna Danilina & Aleksandra Krunic in the doubles final.

It's a first career slam win for Paolini, who lost in both the RG singles (vs. Iga) and doubles (w/ Errani) finals last year, and the sixth in WD for Errani (8th overall), who becomes the first woman to sweep the WD/MX titles in Paris in a decade (Mattek-Sands).

With Errani already with a Career Doubles Slam alongside Roberta Vinci, it made me wonder if anyone has ever completed a Career Slam with *two* partners. No woman has done it in doubles, though Margaret Court did complete the process with a single partner in both WD (w/ Judy Tegart) and MX (Marty Riessen).

Not to "Coco Gauff" Errani (i.e. put the cart way before the horse), but such an historic feat might be in play for the Italian, especially if she & Paolini could win either Wimbledon or the U.S. Open this summer to get at least half-way there before the start of the 2026 season.



Setting aside the match, I wanted to say a little about the trophy ceremomy that followed, as it had some pretty great moments.

Krunic was wonderful, and at an almost "Krejcikova level" of ceremony chatter, at once both 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. A lot of her family members flew in for the occasion.

Thankfully, someone posted Krunic's entire speech so I don't have to transcribe a large part of it (I *did* take notes, BTW -- but this saved me some time!).



As Paolini noted, it was hard to follow Krunic after that, but she had her moments, too. After noting that if Krunic plays like she did at this tournament, she'll be back in a final here or elsewhere, the Serb raised and shook her fist in mock triumph (so good).

Then Paolini made Errani cry by calling her an "inspiration," as well as "a great champion (but) maybe even a better person." "You are a legend for me," she said in conclusion.

After that, Errani took the mic and spoke as a wise veteran, saying how, "It's tough, because it's tennis. We never stop." Tennis is "every day," she noted, and even when you have so many good things happen a player tries to not be "too happy" because they have to continue another day and stay focused. Because of that, she added, sometimes you maybe aren't "enjoying 100%" what is happening "because you cannot stop and feel it." But "Right now, I feel it," Errani said, "and I'm trying to realize what we are doing, it's so big... winning a grand slam is the best thing in the world."

The doubles (and mixed) -- and the players that make their way there -- are so disrespected sometimes by TBTB, it's almost offensive.

...in 125 action, Sara Bejlek won the battle of 19-year olds in Makarska, defeating Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva, 6-0/6-1, to match her biggest career title (in 2023) just weeks after having notched her maiden career slam MD victory in Paris.

In Bari, Anca(!) Todoni outlasted Anna Bondar, 6-7/6-4/6-4, to defend her 2024 title in the event, picking up her fourth career 125 win and second this season.

On the grass in Birmingham, Greet Minnen completed her suspended semifinal with a win over Rebeka Masarova, then defeated Linda Fruhvirtova 2 & 1 in the final, claiming her biggest event title after having previously been 0-2 in 125 finals.

...on the ITF circuit, NCAA champ Dasha Vidmanova won the $75K Sumter (South Carolina) crown with a 7-5/6-1 victory over Canadian Cadence Brace (STILL love that name!). It's the Czech's second '25 win, and sixth since last July.



21-year old Matilde Jorge defeated her 25-year old sister Francisca, 6-1/6-3, in the final of the $50K in Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal, picking up her second career singles title in the first match-up between the two in a singles title match.






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1. Coco Gauff ...your new Roland Garros champion (avoiding the "triple-L" in the Madrid-Rome-Paris trifecta)
2. Errani & Paolini ...Rome (for the second straight year) and then Paris (to go along with their Gold medal win there last summer)
3. Aryna Sabalenka ...defeated Coco in the Madrid final, lost to her in the RG final (she'd likely swap those if she could)
4. Jasmine Paolini ...she didn't return to the RG singles final but, for her troubles, swept the titles in Rome and took the RG doubles final after a RU in '24. Not a bad trade-off, really.
5. Elina Svitolina ...18-3 on clay, a champion in Rouen, semifinalist in Madrid, and quarterfinalist in Rome and Paris
6. Alona Ostapenko ...had one of the best single weeks of the season in Stuttgart, with wins over #1 Sabalenka and (then) #2 Swiatek, while adding a nice new car to her garage
7. Lois Boisson ...put together one of the great Cinderella runs in slam history with a SF at Roland Garros as a #361-ranked wild card. Now she looks to return to Paris in '26 having proven over the next 12 months that there wasn't anything "Cinderella" about it.
8. Yui Kamiji (WC) ...swept the RG wheelchair s/d to pick up career major titles #31 (22nd doubles) and #32 (10th singles)
9. Sara Errani ...wrapped up (apparently) her singles career, but celebrated by becoming the first woman to sweep the RG WD/MX crowns since 2015
10. Mirra Andreeva ...QF runs in Madrid, Rome and Paris. But one suspects she's looking for something more.
H.M. Baptiste/USA, Cirstea/Kalinskaya (ROU/RUS), Danilovic/SRB, Joint/AUS, Kenin/USA, V.Kudermetova/Mertens (RUS/BEL), Li Xiouhui/CHN (WC), NED WC World Team Cup, Osorio/COL, Pegula/USA, Routliffe/NZL, Rybakina/KAZ, Stearns/USA, Swiatek/POL, Tagger/AUS (jr.), Zheng Q./CHN



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1. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
...she still leads almost all of the season's important lists of accomplishment, but can you be Player of the Year without a major title come the fall? Thus, Aryna has her "Mission:Not Impossible" agenda for the rest of '25.

2. Errani/Paolini, ITA/ITA
...wins in Doha, Rome and Roland Garros have the Italians in the driver's seat for Best Doubles Duo... and maybe even more?

3. Coco Gauff, USA
...Coco hadn't won a title this year before Paris, but pulled off the "triple play" on the dirt with additional finals in both Madrid and Rome *before* RG. Come late summer, Sabalenka and Gauff could be in a legit head-to-head race for Player of the Year.

4. Mirra Andreeva, RUS
...the 18-year old has two 1000 singles titles (Dubai, I.W.), one in a doubles 1000 (Miami), and three Top 2 wins. She needs to rebound from seeing her Paris trip go sideways, though.

5. Madison Keys, USA
...hasn't dropped off the map since her stellar January and AO title run, but she hasn't reached a final since then, either. Not that an I.W. semi and Madrid/RG quarters are anything to sneeze at.

6. Yui Kamiji, JPN (WC)
...with Diede de Groot still not quite back to 100%, Kamiji has swept the AO & RG wheelchair singles titles ahead of her traditional toughest annual test: the grass of Wimbledon

7. Siniakova/Townsend, CZE/USA
...the top two ranked doubles players in the world, they've won the AO and Dubai titles this season. Siniakova (w/ 155 on Monday) is closing in on registering what would be the third-most weeks (164) at WD #1 in tour history behind only Navratilova and L.Huber.

8. M.Andreeva/Shnaider, RUS/RUS
...the Hordettes have proven to be huge doubles threats -- w/ titles in Brisbane and Miami -- in addition to their singles success, with both possibly one big result away from being Top 10 in *both* disciplines. Currently, only Paolini can boast of such a thing.

9. Alona Ostapenko, LAT
...a dual threat in singles (Stuttgart 500 title w/ wins over Sabalenka and Swiatek, and a Dubai 1000 RU) and doubles (4 finals, 2 wins), Ostapenko's nature has nonetheless kept her from making a solo smash in a major (1r-3r exits) in '25

10. Jessie Pegula, USA
...has reached four finals (including Miami), and won her first career clay title (Charleston)

HM- Iga Swiatek, POL
...edges out an individual Paolini bid for H.M. because with all the talk of what she *hasn't* done (no titles, no finals), it's easy to forget that she has *two* slam SF on her '25 resume (+3 more in 1000 events), five Top 10 wins and has extended her tournament streak with at least one match win to 57 (since Cincinnati '21) and 69-of-70 (dating back to RG '20)








*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Coco Gauff/USA def. #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR 6-7(5)/6-2/6-4

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL=
#2 Errani/Paolini (ITA/ITA) def. Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB) 6-4/2-6/6-1

=MIXED DOUBLES FINAL=
#3 Errani/Vavassori (ITA/ITA) def. #4 Townsend/King (USA/USA) 6-4/6-2

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN def. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED 6-2/6-2

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA) def. #2 Li/Wang (CHN/CHN) 4-6/7-5 [10-7]

=GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
Lilli Tagger/AUT def. #8 Hannah Klugman/GBR 6-2/6-0

=GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
Bennemann/Zhenikova (GER/GER) def. #3 Kovackova/Kovackova (CZE/CZE) 4-6/6-4 (10-7)

=WHEELCHAIR GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Vitoria Miranda/BRA def. Sabina Czauz/USA 6-3/6-2

=WHEELCHAIR GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
Gryp/Miranda (BEL/BRA) def. Czauz/Gjerseth (USA/SWE) 6-3/6-2







...SOMEWHERE, SUZANNE LENGLEN IS SMILING... ON DAY 15:




...I'M NOT STUPID, EVEN I KNOW THAT WAS PRETTY INCREDIBLE TODAY... ON DAY 15:




...FORESHADOWING (from 2022) RECOGNIZED IN 3, 2, 1... ON DAY 15:




...IT'S NEVER A MISTAKE TO UTILIZE THE EIFFEL TOWER FOR THE CHAMPION'S TROPHY PHOTOSHOOT (even if it's just as a distant backdrop)... ON DAY 15:


Though they should try to get permission (if they need it) to take the winner to the top -- or maybe that little apartment -- and have a pool photographer take some shots from there...





...DIANE'S TOP 10 IS HERE:






...with the new rankings coming out Monday, a quick update on the new state of the tennis world...

* - The Top 4 (Aryna-Coco-Jess-Jasmine) remains static, while Zheng climbs back into the Top 5 (at the expense of you-know-who)

* - Iga Swiatek slips to #7 from #5 (hey, at least she doesn't have any finals or titles to defend for the next year... so there's that)

* - TOP 10 UP/DOWN: Paula Badosa (new #9) flips spots with Emma Navarro (new #10)

* - TOP 20: Donna Vekic drops out, while Alona Ostapenko returns (#20); Amanda Anisimova ticks up one spot to a new career-high #15

* - TOP 50 NOTES: Ashlyn Krueger, with the summer hard court stretch coming soon, reaches a career-high #33, while Emma Raducanu jumps back into the Top 40. Jaqueline Cristian and Sonay Kartal are Top 50 newcomers, while Maya Joint is *nearly* there at #51. Naomi Osaka drops out (#52), as does Ons Jabeur (-18 to #54).

* - TOP 100: Hailey Baptiste up 12 to #58 (career-high), Jessica Bouzas Maneiro up 9 to #59, and new FRA #1 Lois Boisson up 296 to #65. RG lucky loser-to-3rd-Rounder Yuliia Starodubtseva climbs 14 to a career-high #67. FRA #2 Leolia Jeanjean is up 8 to a career-high #92. while Victoria Mboko (#337 in January, #416 last July) climbs 29 more spots to #91. Antonia Ruzic (#98) and Mananchaya Sawangkaew (#100) both crack the Top 100 for the first time, while Robin Montgomery (+20 to #95) reaches another new high position.

* - BIGGEST DROPS FROM WITHIN THE TOP 100: Pastry up, Pastry down... Varvara Gracheva slips 38 to #110. Meanwhile, Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto is down 34 to #123 and Bannerette Katie Volynets drops 27 to #93. Marketa Vondrouva (PR in her future, again) falls 69 to #165.

* - TOP 200: Sara Bejlek, off RG and 125 runs, jumps 68 to #120 (CZE #6)

* - ON THE COME, ON THE COMEBACK: Dasha Vidmanova climbs 92 to #241, while Kaja Juvan is up 93 to #260

* - DOUBLES: #1 Katerina Siniakova leads doubles partner #2 Taylor Townsend by just 260 points. RG finalist Anna Danilina climbs into the Top 10 at #9 (new CH), while her Paris partner-in-crime Aleks Krunic rises 40 to #39. Diana Shnaider remains at #10 (#12 in singles), while Mirra Andreeva is #14 (#6 singles). Jasmine Paolini (#4/#6) remains only player in both s/d Top 10. Alona Ostapanko is the fourth in both Top 20s, at #20 & #4, respectively.













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*RECENT RG "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS*
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
2016 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2019 Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2020 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2021 Desirae Krawczyk, USA
2022 Diede de Groot & Aniek Van Koot, NED/NED (WC)
2023 Miyu Kato, JPN
2024 Coco Gauff & Katerina Siniakova, USA/CZE
2025 Sara Errani, ITA

*RECENT RG WD CHAMPIONS*
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2013 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS
2014 Hsieh Su-Wei & Peng Shuai, TPE/CHN
2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2016 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2017 Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
2018 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2019 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2020 Timea Babos & Kristina Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
2021 Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
2022 Caroline Garcia & Kristina Mladenovic, FRA/FRA
2023 Hsieh Su-wei & Wang Xinyu, TPE/CHN
2024 Coco Gauff & Katerina Siniakova , USA/CZE
2025 Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini, ITA/ITA

*RECENT SLAM WD/MX FINALS*
2015 RG - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (W-W)
2015 WI - Martina Hingis (W-W)
2015 US - Martina Hingis (W-W)
2017 US - Martina Hingis (W-W)
2018 AO - Timea Babos (W-L)
2018 WI - Nicole Melichar (L-W)
2021 AO - Barbora Krejcikova (L-W)
2024 AO - Hsieh Su-wei (W-W)
2025 RG - Sara Errani (W-W)

*CAREER WOMEN'S DOUBLES SLAM TITLES - active*
10..Katerina Siniakova
7...Barbora Krejcikova
7...Hsieh Su-wei
6...Kristina Mladenovic
6...SARA ERRANI
5...Bethanie Mattek-Sands
--
ALSO: 14-V.Williams

*CAREER OVERALL SLAM TITLES - ACTIVE*
[singles/doubles/mixed]
12 - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (2-7-3)
10 - Katerina Siniakova, CZE (0-10-0)
9 - Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (0-6-3)
9 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA (0-5-4)
9 - Hsieh Su-wei, TPE (0-7-2)
8 - SARA ERRANI, ITA (0-6-2)
5 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-2-0)
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-0-0)
5 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (0-3-2)
--
ALSO: 23-V.Williams, 7-14-2

*2025 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
[duos]
3...ERRANI/PAOLINI
2...M.Andreeva/Shnaider
2...Babos/Stefani
2...Errani/Paolini
2...Jiang/Wu
2...Siniakova/Townsend
[2020-25 - duos]
13..Krejcikova/Siniakova (1/5/3/3/1/0)
8...Aoyama/Shibahara (1/5/0/2/0/0)
8...ERRANI/PAOLINI (0/0/0/1/4/3)
7...Siegemund/Zvonareva (1/0/2/4/0/0)

*2025 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
4 (2-2) = Alona Ostapenko
3 (3-0) = SARA ERRANI
3 (3-0) = JASMINE PAOLINI
3 (2-1) = Jiang Xinyu
3 (2-1) = Wu Fang-hsien
3 (1-2) = ALEKSANDRA KRUNIC
3 (0-3) = Zhang Shuai



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TOP QUALIFIER: Nao Hibino/JPN
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (5 games lost 1r/2r)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (only player in SF w/o losing a set)
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): #2 Coco Gauff/USA (second major title)
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2 - Nao Nibino/JPN def. #17 Bianca Andreescu/CAN 2-6/7-6(5)/6-4 - Andreescu led 6-2/5-3, holding a MP in game #8 of the 2nd and then serving for the win a game later, and led 5-2 in the 2nd set TB; Hibino also saved 2 MP vs. Ella Seidel/GER in Q3
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #10 Paula Badosa/ESP def. Naomi Osaka/JPN 6-7(1)/6-1/6-4 - Badosa SP in 1st, up break at 4-3 3rd and saved BP; Osaka out 1r year after had MP vs. Swiatek 2r and won first pro title on clay in '25)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): 4th Rd. - #5 Iga Swiatek/POL def. #12 Elena Rybakina/KAZ 1-6/6-3/7-5 - trailed 6-1/2-0 in dominant fashion; Rybakina had 3 BP for 4-2 lead in 3rd)
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): SF - #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. #5 Iga Swiatek/POL 7-6(1)/4-6/6-0 - ends three-year title reign and 26-match RG streak; Iga first love RG set since 2019; 1000 days since last slam meetings)
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #13 Elina Svitolina/UKR (def. Sonmez/TUR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #28 Peyton Stearns/USA (1r: Lys/GER)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Emiliana Arango/COL, Sara Bejlek/CZE, Lois Boisson/FRA, Joanna Garland/TPE, Victoria Mboko/CAN, Leyre Romero Gormaz/ESP, Tereza Valentova/CZE
UPSET QUEENS: Czech Republic
REVELATION LADIES: United States
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Australia (2-5 1st Rd.; only wins AUS/AUS 1r and new-AUS Kasatkina)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Victoria Mboko/CAN (3rd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSER WINS: Yuliia Starodubtseva/UKR (3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Lois Boisson/FRA (SF)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: none
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Lois Boisson/FRA (SF)
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: Yui Kamiji/JPN (sweeps AO/RG after de Groot surgery & comeback)
IT "Française Forehand": Lois Boisson/FRA
COMEBACK: Coco Gauff's missing rackets (1r, Day 3 - arrives on court w/ bag without any rackets; finishes event by winning first RG title)
CRASH & BURN: #9 Emma Navarro/USA (1r- wins 1 game vs. Bouzas Maneiro)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: #7 Madison Keys/USA (saved MP in second straight major: AO SF vs. Swiatek, RG 3r down 3-0 in 3rd vs. Kenin, saved 3 MP at 5-4)
DOUBLES STAR: Sara Errani/ITA
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Elina Svitolina/UKR
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: -
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Lilli Tagger/AUT
Légion de Lenglen: 100th anniversary of Suzanne Lenglen's first grand slam French Championship titles (WS/WD/MX sweep) in 1925 (first time event open to non-FRA competitors)
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: On Henin's birthday (June 1), Iga Swiatek passes Henin on all-time RG win streak list w/ #25, def. Rybakina from 6-1 and early 2nd set break, and Rybakina had 3 BP for 4-2 lead in 3rd







All for now at Roland Garros. Clay Courts Awards this week.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 7:41 PM 

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