Tennis

PARIS — World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka weathered a first-set implosion to beat American Sloane Stephens 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Sunday and advance to the French Open quarterfinals. The Belarusian player gave Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, no hope at the start, unleashing a variety of hard shots that left Stephens, 30, stunned. Sabalenka,

PARIS — Iga Swiatek underlined her credentials Saturday as a French Open favorite after serving up double bagels again with a 6-0, 6-0 win, but the world No. 1 refused to be swept up in the “Iga’s Bakery” social media craze. Swiatek thrashed Wang Xinyu without dropping a game to cruise into the fourth round,

Novak Djokovic inched closer to a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam title by crushing Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday to reach the French Open quarterfinals. No. 3 Djokovic, who is currently tied with Rafael Nadal with 22 major titles, was untroubled by his 94th-ranked opponent, the first Peruvian in 29 years to reach

PARIS — Frances Tiafoe kept coming oh-so-close to extending his French Open match against Alexander Zverev. Twelve times Saturday night, the American player was two points from forcing things to a fifth set. Yet the 12th-seeded Tiafoe never got closer than that. Instead, the 22nd-seeded Zverev finished out his 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, 7-6 (5)

Rafael Nadal‘s season is all but over after he underwent surgery on a hip muscle that will keep him out of action for an estimated five months, his representative said Saturday. The 14-time French Open champion, who has won a men’s joint-record 22 majors, has been out of action since January after hurting his hip

Coco Gauff, last year’s runner-up, overcame a shaky start to end fellow teenager Mirra Andreeva‘s French Open run with a 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1 victory Saturday to reach the fourth round. On a sunny afternoon, Gauff struggled to handle Russian Andreeva’s power before finding her stride to set up a meeting with Anna Karolina Schmiedlova

PARIS — Novak Djokovic makes no secret of the way he loves to feed off negativity during a tennis match. Doesn’t really matter whether he’s ahead or behind on the scoreboard. The guy simply finds motivation and inspiration from all manner of slights, real and perceived. Maybe it’s how a chair umpire is officiating that

Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterJun 2, 2023, 12:12 PM ET Close • Joined ESPN in 2011• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018 PARIS — Aryna Sabalenka skipped an open news conference after her third-round win at the French Open on

World No. 3 Jessica Pegula‘s hopes of hoisting a Grand Slam trophy ended in despair Friday after a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Belgian Elise Mertens in the third round of the French Open. Pegula, 29, had no answer to Mertens’ versatile game. Mertens, a former world No. 1 in doubles, used her complete arsenal of

PARIS — The French Open crowd was not happy with American player Taylor Fritz after he beat one of their own — indeed, their last man in the bracket — so they booed and whistle relentlessly. Fritz’s response? He told them to shush. Over and over again. Fritz, a 25-year-old from California who is seeded

PARIS — Jannik Sinner wasted two match points as he was knocked out of the French Open 6-7 (0), 7-6 (7), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in a second-round thriller against German Daniel Altmaier on Thursday. Sinner, a red-haired Italian who is often cheered on by six fans dressed as carrots — the Carota boys —

Defending champion Iga Swiatek overcame a minor stumble to secure her spot in the third round of the French Open, Elena Rybakina showed her improving comfort on clay, and Madison Keys‘ error-filled day led to her being eliminated by fellow American Kayla Day on Thursday. Swiatek, who is looking to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup

Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterMay 31, 2023, 06:42 PM ET Close • Joined ESPN in 2011• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018 PARIS — Novak Djokovic stood by his comment that Kosovo was “the heart of Serbia” following his second-round

May 31, 2023, 06:03 PM ET Elina Svitolina didn’t expect to be back in the third round at the French Open. Not yet anyway. When the 28-year-old first returned to the practice court in January, after giving birth to her daughter, Skai, in October, she knew it would take time to get back to her

May 31, 2023, 01:26 PM ET Carlos Alcaraz came through a tricky early test at the French Open with flying colors, as the world No. 1 sealed a 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Japan’s Taro Daniel on Wednesday to reach the third round. Alcaraz enjoyed a dominant opening win over Flavio Cobolli in his

May 30, 2023, 01:52 PM ET After 4 hours, 15 minutes, and five agonizing sets, Daniil Medvedev needed just seconds to pack up his bag and find his way off the court at Philippe Chatrier. He had just become the first top-two seed in a men’s draw at a major to lose in the opening

May 30, 2023, 09:49 AM ET PARIS — American sixth seed Coco Gauff recovered from an error-strewn start with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spain’s Rebeka Masarova to reach the second round of the French Open on Tuesday. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who beat Gauff in last year’s final, launched her French Open

May 30, 2023, 12:47 PM ET PARIS — Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev was stunned in the first round of the French Open on Tuesday, losing in five sets to Thiago Seyboth Wild, a 23-year-old from Brazil who is ranked just 172nd and was playing only his second match in the main draw of any Grand Slam