Thursday, June 05, 2025

RG.12- Where Aryna Has No Fear to Tread

As it turns out, Aryna Sabalenka is ranked #1 for a reason.




A few years ago, Iga Swiatek was the "be-all and end-all" of women's tennis in the immediate aftermath of the sudden retirement of Ash Barty, and for a time she lived up to that hype, dominating on the dirt in Paris, winning more often and bigger than anyone, and building up a wide gulf between herself and the rest of the WTA field. Over the past year or so, though, the pack has slowly gained on her, led by Sabalenka, who traveled a uniquely loud and dramatic path to the top of the sport, knocking over tables and shattering glass all along the way.

Some players arrive in the spotlight almost from under the cover of darkness (see Lois Boisson), but not Sabalenka. Starting with her attention-getting Fed Cup debut in 2017, when she played a huge role in leading Belarus to the final when she was still ranked in the #70s and had just one slam MD win to her name, the sport has heard every one of Sabalenka's career-building steps.

While Swiatek has slowly worn down since sitting atop the sport for multiple seasons, Sabalenka's rise to #1 has seen her seemingly get even stronger as she has tightend her grip on the top ranking and her command of the big stage. The one last vestige that remained of Swiatek's past dominance was Roland Garros. Even with a year-long title and final drought and slipping standing on the WTA computer, the Pole still had Paris, where she'd won three straight titles, four in five years, and arrived for her semifinal meeting today with Sabalenka on a 26-match RG winning streak that was edging toward the record held by Chris Evert (29 wins) and the chance for an unprecedented four-peat.

On Thursday, Sabalenka erased all that.

The 13th meeting between the two (Iga led 8-4) was their seventh match-up on clay (Iga led 5-1), and came exactly 1000 days since their only other slam meeting in the 2022 U.S. Open SF. After having been seeded #1 and #2 in the last five majors that they both played (Sabalenka would have been #3 at last year's Wimbledon, but was out injured), Swiatek's slip to #5 finally precluded that both play all the way into the final for them to cross each other's paths anywhere other than the practice courts. And as was the case in Sabalenka's lone previous win over Swaitek on clay, in Madrid in 2023, the contest would be played "indoors" with the opening above Chatrier Court being covered for the day.

Like Elena Rybakina had in her Round of 16 match vs. Swiatek, during which the defending champ eventually changed up a few tactics and found her way back into the match, Sabalenka came roaring into the 1st set, outhitting Iga from pillar to post. She immediately took a 15/40 lead on return in game 1, and Swiatek DF'd on BP to quickly feel the wall against her back. Two games later, Sabalenka was up 15/40 again, and soon led by a double-break.

Swiatek got on the board in game 4, stepping inside the court to hit shots even though the tactic of trying to hit *with* big ball strikers on something resembling "equal ground" has never particularly worked well for her in the past. Sabalenka had held a GP after denying a BP, but Swiatek swatted a second serve forehand return off the outside of the line on her third BP to get one break back. But Sabalenka quickly took a love/40 lead in the next game, and a Swiatek forehand error on a second BP increased the deficit to two breaks once again.

Serving up 4-1, Sabalenka was a whisker away from a 5-1 edge, as a would-be ace on GP was called a let, then she framed a forehand shot on a second GP chance en route to Swiatek cutting the break lead in half yet again. The Pole then held for 4-3.

After being so close to a commanding lead, Sabalenka's frustrations began to mount as she fell behind love/30 in game 8 as Swiatek's return game fully found its footing. The Belarusian faced a BP, and with Iga stepping in on a second serve, Sabalenka DF'd as the score was suddenly 4-4. With a 15/30 opening in the following game, Sabalenka caught her foot in the clay in the backcourt mid-rally and took a tumble, then sat and watched Iga hit a winner. Swiatek's hold gave her her first lead at 5-4 as she ticked off a fourth consecutive game win.

But Sabalenka had another scoreboard surge within her. A running forehand down the line put her up love/30 in game 11, and a big return got the break lead back at 6-5.



But Sabalenka couldn't close out the set, falling down love/30 with the 1st on her racket and dropping serve to set up a deciding tie-break. Right on cue, the #1 seed lifted her game and Swiatek could not keep up. Sabalenka dominated the breaker, riding her big serve to a 7-1 win.



The 2nd began with three straight breaks of serve between the two before Swiatek was the first to hold, activating her "inner Ons" with consecutive touch shots to end game 4 with a volley winner and then a forehand slice drop shot from behind the baseline. But then the tenor of the set changed on a dime, as both Swiatek and Sabalenka minded their business on serve the rest of the way. The set ended with seven straight holds, with Swiatek maintaining her initial edge to win 6-4 and send the match to a 3rd set.



It seemed as if the decider would be a nip-and-tuck affair, with the ultimate result waiting until the final moments to be determined. But that wasn't how things played out at all.

The first game saw Sabalenka hold in a tight battle, using her big serve to pull ahead, then she carved out a BP on Swiatek's first service game with a short return that produced an Iga backhand error. Sabalenka got the break to lead 2-0... and then never looked back.

A quick love hold in game 3 seemed to exponentially increase Sabalenka's momentum, as her final set game was crystal clean, while every Swiatek error seemed to count double (or more). Sabalenka broke at love to lead 4-0, having won 11 of 12 points. Just when a classic 3rd set had seemed to be afoot, in a blink, the whole thing was suddenly nealry over. Another shockingly quick love hold made it 5-0, as errors flew off Swiatek's racket between Sabalenka's groundstrokes seeming to cut like a speedboat through calm water. 15 of 16 points.

With a spot in the final definitively on the line, as Sabalenka had again raised the level of her game, and once again Swiatek simply could not follow her there.

Swiatek managed a point to open game 5, but then threw in a DF and she wouldn't win another. Sabalenka ended the match with two clean return winners to close out a 7-6(1)/4-6/6-0 victory, winning 19 of the final 21 points and commmitting zero unforced errors in the set.



The love set lost was the first by Swiatek at Roland Garros since her very first loss in the tournament, in the 4th Round vs. Simona Halep in 2019. It's her second love set lost on clay this spring, though, having been shut out in the 1st set in Madrid vs. Madison Keys, not to mention *barely* avoiding a few others vs. the likes of Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins in recent weeks.

With her RG reign over, along with her 26-match terre battue winning streak, Swiatek's stretch of no appearances in finals will reach a full year at the conclusion of this tournament. She's 0-5 in semifinals this season, and 0-7 since winning for the fourth time in Paris last June.

As Swiatek exits Paris, does the "Wim Watch" (i.e. the potential end of Iga's coaching stint with Wim Fissette) begin? With no titles, no finals, multiple embarrassing losses, the end of her RG dominance and a fall from #1 to (as of Monday) #7 in the rankings since bringing aboard the Belgian to Team Iga, the coming weeks could be interesting as the grass court season (never Swiatek's favorite time of the year, anyway) begins.

Thing is, there was legitimate *worthwhile* coaching taking place at this RG between the two, as Swiatek was *finally* convinced -- even if it was out of desperation, she did it -- to begin to retreat a bit in her return game in order to have a better look at huge serves. The in-game change of tactic helped her get past Rybakina, and likely helped her force a 3rd set vs. Sabalenka. It was a good sign, and at least a place to start to rebuild her standing in the sport.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka reaches her first RG final, her third straight at a major. She's played for the title at five of the last six slams at which she's appeared, and now has a shot at the third leg of a Career Slam. Amongst "active" WTA players, only she and Venus Williams (if she's still "active") have reached the finals of at least three different majors.

Aside from that, the gulf that Swiatek once presided over between herself and the field in terms of slam success has not only been closed by Sabalenka, but the Belarusian now clearly leads the pack as the best player in the world. Sabalenka has a nearly 7000-point edge over Swiatek in the rankings, has the chance to add another 1000 with the title, and has zero Wimbledon points to defend in a few weeks time. With a more diversified slam resume that Swiatek, she's now also reached more major finals (6 to 5).

Swiatek still holds the major *title* edge (at 5 to 3), but Sabalenka has a chance to begin to truly reshape *that* situation on Saturday.








=DAY 12 NOTES=
...in the concluding semifinal on Thursday, the notion that all good things must eventually come to an end met head-on with the Cinderella run of wild card Lois Boisson.

It's been twenty years since a French woman reached the RG final (Mary Pierce '05), and fifteen since a wild card did so at any major (Justine Henin AO '10). Both droughts will continue after #2 Coco Gauff immediately brushed off her important but error-filled victory in yesterday's QF with her cleanest outing of the tournament; while Boisson finally seemed to feel the weight of the pressure of her historic run, or at least the difficulty of a quick 24-hour turnaround, just a few months into her return from a nearly year-long injury-related absence, that made it difficult for her bring her best tennis one more time on the terre battue.

Gauff's form was quickly apparent in this one, as she collected breaks of serve in the first and third games of the match. In game 4, she saved three BP and held serve to prevent Boisson -- as she had in the 3rd set vs. Jessie Pegula, then the 1st set vs. Mirra Andreeva -- from hanging onto her coattails just long enough to be able to find a way back into the set down the stretch. Boisson got on the board with a hold for 4-1, but Gauff claimed the final two games by breaking free of 30/30 ties to finish off the Pastry, 6-1.



Boisson threatened to find a way into the 2nd set, as well, holding a BP in game 3 before Gauff held for 2-1, then broke the French woman a game later.

Gauff seemed to be cruising, with Boisson looking tired. But the new French tennis folk hero had one more card to play, getting a break back for 3-2 to stay close (as she had vs. Pegula and Andreeva) a little longer (just in case), but it turned out to be her last important salvo in this event. It was after that moment that her tank seemed to finally hit "empty."

Gauff jumped at the moment, breaking back at love to take any remaining air out of Boisson's proverbial sails. One last break brought the final curtain down on the wild card's run, as Gauff prevailed 6-1/6-2 to reach her second RG final, and the third of the slam career. She's the fifth (and the youngest) woman to reach the Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros clay court finals in the same season.



Gauff's lone slam title run was completed two summers ago in New York with a win in the final vs. Aryna Sabalenka, so on Saturday the two will add a second major final clash to their head-to-head list. It'll be the first #1 vs. #2 title match in a major since 2018 (AO: Wozniacki def. Halep), and the first in Paris in a dozen years (2013: S.Williams def. Sharapova).

...before the singles semis, the first champions of this RG were crowned in the Mixed Doubles. Hmmm, imagine that, handing out a slam title *during* the actual event rather than in a glorified exhibition tournament before the start of play. Amazing concept, eh?



For the second time in the last three majors, Sara Errani & Andrea Vavassori flexed their way into the winners' circle, defeating Taylor Townsend (who was on the wrong side of the U.S. Open final vs. the Italians, too) and Evan King, 6-4/6-2.

It's Errani seventh career slam crown, along with her five WD wins alongside Roberta Vinci. The 38-year old could still get another, as she and Jasmine Paolini play the WD semis on Friday. Errani was a *singles* finalist in Paris thirteen years ago. Her and Paolini's SF opponents tomorrow, Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, were ages five and eight at the time.



...the junior singles semis were set on Thursday, and #1 Emerson Jones is now *one* win away from advancing to her her third different slam final (as Sabalenka did today), but the Aussie is still looking for that first major title. She defeated #9 Julieta Pareja (USA) today, and will next face Austria's Lilli Tagger, who defeated #12 Julia Stusek (GER).

The last Aussie to win the RG girls' title was Lesley Hunt in 1968, while no Austrian girl has yet claimed a junior singles major. Two have reached finals over the years: Barbara Schett (1994 AO) and Tamira Paszek (2005 WI and 2006 US).

17-year old Tagger, coached by none other than Francesca Schiavone, is the only singles semifinalist also still alive in the doubles semis. She lost to Jones in the AO girls' QF in January, but has since picked up her maiden pro title in a $35K challenger. Guess who she beat in the final: Lois Boisson!

The other girls' semi will feature #8-seeded Brit Hannah Klugman (def. Czech qualifier Sarah Melany Fajmanova) against Bulgarian Rositsa Dencheva (def. Luna Maria Cinalli).

The last British girl to win the RG juniors was Michelle Tyler in 1976, while the last Bulgian to win a girls' singles major was Sesil Karatantcheva in Paris in 2004. The only other Bulgarians to lift slam titles were all named Maleeva, as the three sisters combined to win five from 1982-90.

The Penickova and Kovackova sisters are now absent from the singles, but the two sibling pairs will face off in a second straight major GD semi for a spot in the RG final. Annika & Kristina (Penickova) defeated Alena & Jana (Kovackova) in Melbourne, and went on to win the girls' title. Hopefully the two duos will complete the second fashion leg of a Grand Slam when they face off again, too.



...in wheelchair action, #1 Yui Kamiji will face off once again this year with giant-killer Li Xiaohui in the semifinals after both dusted off young foes -- Kamiji over Lizzy de Greef, Li over Ksenia Chasteau -- in the QF today. Kamiji leads the series 4-2, but the two are 2-2 in '25. Li defeated Kamiji in the pre-AO event in Melbourne, but then lost to the world #1 soon after in the AO semis, as well as in a recent face-off (on hard court in Japan) in April. This will be their second meeting on clay, with Kamiji having won their other match-up last summer in the French Riviera.

The other SF will be an all-veteran affair, as #2 Aniek Van Koot (def. Manami Tanaka) will meet Kgothatso Montjane (def. #4 Wang Ziying).

Kamiji and Li will also meet in the doubles final, as Kamiji/Montjane (w/ four slam titles together, including the '23 RG) will take on Li/Wang, who in January became the first wheelchair slam champions from China when they took the doubles in Melbourne.

The junior wheelchair competition will give Brazil's Vitoria Miranda a chance to sweep the s/d at a second straight slam, as she'll play the U.S.'s Sabina Czauz in singles (Miranda defeated her in the AO final) and team up again with Belgium's Luna Gryp vs. Czauz & Swede Emma Gjerseth in the doubles title match.



So far, of the five girls' wheelchair singles major titles claimed since the inaugural event at the 2022 U.S. Open, none have been claimed by a U.S. junior. Maylie Phelps was a part of three girls' doubles titles from 2022-24, though.

To date, only one *women's* slam crown has been won by a U.S. player: Dana Mathewson at the 2022 Wimbledon (w/ Kamiji). No U.S. women were in the WC draw in Paris.





*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR vs. #2 Coco Gauff/USA

=WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF=
Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB) vs. Eikeri/Hozumi (NOR/JPN)
#4 M.Andreeva/Shnaider (RUS/RUS) vs. #2 Errani/Paolini (ITA/ITA)

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

=WHEELCHAIR SINGLES SF=
#1 Yui Kamiji/JPN vs. Li Xiaohui/CHN
Kgothatso Montjane/RSA vs. #2 Aniek Van Koot/NED

=WHEELCHAIR DOUBLES FINAL=
Kamiji/Montjane (JPN/RSA) vs. #2 Li/Wang (CHN/CHN)

=GIRLS SINGLES SF=
#1 Emerson Jones/AUS vs. Lilli Tagger/AUT
#8 Hannah Klugman/GBR vs. Rositsa Dencheva/BUL

=GIRLS DOUBLES SF=
Bennemann/Zhenikova (GER/GER) vs. Pohankova/Tagger (SVK/AUT)
#3 Kovackova/Kovackova (CZE/CZE) vs. #2 Penickova/Penickova (USA/USA)

=WHEELCHAIR GIRLS SINGLES FINAL=
#1 Vitoria Miranda/BRA vs. Sabina Czauz/USA

=WHEELCHAIR GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL=
Gryp/Miranda (BEL/BRA) vs. Czauz/Gjerseth (USA/SWE)







...ONE DAY WE'LL RUN OUT OF "First since Serena Williams..." NOTES (but that day is not today)... ON DAY 12:




...WATCH OUT, THE USTA MIGHT TRY TO BRIBE PERSUADE ARYNA & NOVAK TO PLAY THAT MIXED DOUBLES THING IN AUGUST... ON DAY 12:




...TAKEN TOTALLY OUT OF CONTEXT, OF COURSE, but... ON DAY 12:


This looks like the sort of photo you'd see from a match in 1982 between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe (except the evil intent vibes would be *real*).





...PROP PICK UPDATE... ON DAY 12:



=2025 SLAM "PROP PICK" PREDICTIONS=

TRT TOURNAMENT WINNER... YES or NO?
AO Winner will be a past slam champion, but not a former AO winner (no Sabalenka three-peat) NO (Keys); YES
RG Winner will be a first-time RG champion, age 23 and under (no Swiatek four-peat; out pre-QF) YES (#1 for either Sabalenka or Gauff); ??? (Y if Coco wins); YES/NO (no four-peat, but out in the SF... but, grrr, Rybakina had BPs for a 4-2 lead in the 3rd in the 4th Rd.)








kosova-font

*MOST WTA FINALS in 2025*
7 - ARYNA SABALENKA (3-3)
4 - Jessie Pegula (2-2)
3 - COCO GAUFF (0-2)
2 - Mirra Andreeva (2-0)
2 - Madison Keys (2-0)
2 - McCartney Kessler (1-1)
2 - Elise Mertens (1-1)
2 - Alona Ostapenko (1-1)
2 - Clara Tauson (1-1)

*MADRID/ROME FINALS IN A SINGLE SEASON (since Madrid '09)*
2009 Dinara Safina (W-W)
2013 Serena Williams (W-W)
2017 Simona Halep (W-L)
2022 Ons Jabeur (W-L)
2024 Iga Swiatek (W-W)
2024 Aryna Sabalenka (L-L)
2025 Coco Gauff (L-L)
[also reached RG final]
2009 Safina (W-W-L)
2013 S.Williams (W-W-W)
2017 Halep (W-L-L)
2024 Swiatek (W-W-W)
2025 GAUFF (L-L-?)

*MOST WTA FINALS - 2020-25*
29 - 3/3/3/6/7/7 = SABALENKA (15-13)
25 - 1/2/9/8/5/0 = Swiatek (22-3)
18 - 5/0/3/4/5/1 = Rybakina (8-10)
16 - 1/0/2/5/4/4 = Pegula (7-9)
14 - 0/4/2/2/6/0 = Kasatkina (6-8)
12 - 0/1/1/4/3/3 = GAUFF (8-3)
12 - 0/4/3/4/1/0 = Krejcikova (8-4)
12 - 1/7/4/0 ret...Kontaveit (5-6-1)
12 - 0/3/6/3/0/0 = Jabeur (5-7)

*RECORD IN TOP 10-vs.-TOP 10 FINALS 2020s*
17 (7-9) - SABALENKA
13 (12-1) - Swiatek
6 (3-2) - GAUFF
6 (1-5) - Pegula
5 (0-5) - Sakkari
3 (2-1) - Barty, Rybakina
3 (1-2) - Kontaveit
2 (0-2) - Jabeur, Zheng Q.
1 (1-0) - Badosa, Garcia, Halep, Muguruza, Paolini
1 (0-1) - Andreescu, Krejcikova, Pliskova
---
[2025 Top 10 Finals]
Miami - #1 Sabalenka def. #4 Pegula
Madrid - #1 Sabalenka def. #4 Gauff
Rome - #5 Paolini def. #3 Gauff
Roland Garros - #1 Sabalenka vs. #2 Gauff

*RECENT WTA #1 vs. #2 MATCH-UPS*
2015 Australian Open Final - #1 S.Williams d. #2 Sharapova
2018 Australian Open Final - #2 Wozniacki d. #1 Halep
2019 WTA Finals SF - #1 Barty d. #2 Ka.Pliskova
2023 Stuttgart Final - #1 Swiatek d. #2 Sabalenka
2023 Madrid Final - #2 Sabalenka d. #1 Swiatek
2023 WTA Finals SF - #2 Swiatek d. #1 Sabalenka
2024 Madrid Final - #1 Swiatek d. #2 Sabalenka
2024 Rome Final - #1 Swiatek d. #2 Sabalenka
2025 Roland Garros Final - #1 Sabalenka vs. #2 Gauff

*SABALENKA vs. GAUFF*
2020 Lexington 2r (hc) - Gauff 7-6(4)/4-6/6-4
2020 Ostrava!!! 2r (hi) - Sabalenka 1-6/7-5/7-6(2)
2021 Rome 3r (rc) - Gauff 7-5/6-3
2022 Toronto 3r (hc) - Gauff 7-5/4-6/7-6(4)
2023 Indian Wells QF (hc) - Sabalenka 6-4/6-0
2023 US Open Final (hc) - Gauff 2-6/6-3/6-2
2024 Australian Open SF (hc) - Sabalenka 7-6(2)/6-4
2024 Wuhan SF (hc) - Sabalenka 1-6/6-4/6-4
2024 WTA Finals SF (hci) - Gauff 7-6(4)/6-3
2025 Madrid Final (rc) - Sabalenka 6-3/7-6(3)
2025 Roland Garros Final (rc) - ?

*2020s SLAM FINALS (21 slams/42 finalists)*
9 - USA (3-5) - Gauff
7 - BLR (3-3) - Sabalenka
5 - POL (5-0)
5 - CZE (3-2)
3 - TUN (0-3)
2 - AUS (2-0)
2 - JPN (2-0)
2 - ITA (0-2)
2 - KAZ (1-1)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - CAN (0-1)
1 - CHN (0-1)
1 - ESP (0-1)
1 - RUS (0-1)
---
SINCE BARTY RET.: 7/12 won by Swiatek/Sabalenka, pre-RG
SINCE BARTY RET.: 9/13 won by Swiatek/Sabalenka/Gauff, post-RG
SINCE BARTY RET.: 10/13 Swiatek/Sabalenka/Rybakina/Gauff (+3 by CZE), post-RG

*MOST CAREER SLAM FINALS - active*
6 - ARYNA SABALENKA (3-2)
5 - Iga Swiatek (5-0)
5 - Victoria Azarenka (2-3)
4 - Naomi Osaka (4-0)
3 - Petra Kvitova (2-1)
3 - COCO GAUFF (1-1)
3 - Ons Jabeur (0-3)
--
ALSO: 16-V.Williams (7-9), 3-Wozniacki (1-2)

*RECENT MX SLAM CHAMPIONS*
[2024]
AO: Hsieh Su-wei/Jan Zielinski (TPE/POL)
RG: Laura Siegemund/Edouard Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA)
WI: Hsieh Su-wei/Jan Zielinski (TPE/POL)
US: Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori (ITA/ITA)
[2025]
AO: Olivia Gadecki/John Peers (AUS/AUS)
RG: Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori (ITA/ITA)

*SLAM MX TITLES - active*
4...Desirae Krawczyk, USA
4...Bethanie Mattek-Sands, USA
3...Latisha Chan, TPE
3...Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
3...Kristina Mladenovic, FRA
2...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
2...Gaby Dabrowski, CAN
2...SARA ERRANI, ITA
2...Hsieh Su-wei, TPE
2...Laura Siegemund, GER
2...Venus Williams, USA
2...Vera Zvonareva, RUS
[career ws/wd/mx titles]
23 - Venus Williams, USA (7-14-2)
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)
7 - SARA ERRANI, ITA (0-5-2)
5 - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (3-2-0)
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL (5-0-0)
5 - Vera Zvonareva, RUS (0-3-2)

*JUNIOR WHEELCHAIR CHAMPIONS*
[singles]
2022 US: Jade Moreira Lanai BRA
2023 US: Ksenia Chasteau, FRA
2024 RG: Ksenia Chasteau, FRA
2024 US: Yuma Takamuro, JPN
2025 AO: Vitoria Miranda, BRA
2025 RG: ?
[doubles]
2022 US: Jade Moreira Lanai/Maylie Phelps, BRA/USA
2023 US: Ksenia Chasteau/Maylie Phelps, FRA/USA
2024 RG: Ksenia Chasteau/Maylie Phelps, FRA/USA
2024 US: Rio Okano/Yuma Takamuro, JPN/JPN
2025 AO: Luna Gryp/Vitoria Miranda, BEL/BRA
2025 RG: ?

*SLAM JR. GIRLS' SINGLES FINALS*
2022 US: Jade Moreira Lanai/BRA def. Yuma Takamuro/JPN
2023 US: Ksenia Chasteau/FRA def. Maylee Phelps/USA
2024 RG: Ksenia Chasteau/FRA def. Maylee Phelps/USA
2024 US: Yuna Takamuro/JPN def. Vitoria Miranda/BRA
2025 AO: Vitoria Miranda/BRA def. Sabina Czauz/USA
2025 RG: Miranda vs. Czauz












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): xx
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): xx
=============================
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 (in SF)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: none
LAST PASTRY STANDING: Lois Boisson/FRA (in SF)
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: Nominees: Boisson, (WC), (WD/MX)
IT "TBD": Nominees: Boisson, M.Andreeva/Shnaider, (WC)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Nominees: Gauff's missing rackets (1r, Day 3)
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: Nominee: Errani
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): Elina Svitolina/UKR
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: -
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
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 Day 12. More tomorrow.

posted by Todd.Spiker @ 8:44 PM 

1 Comments:

Blogger khan35 said...

Boisson's run at Roland-Garros isn't a one-off. Her level is top-25 on clay. She may struggle on hard court though.

Thu Jun 05, 10:16:00 PM EDT  

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