French Open 2025: Aryna Sabalenka wins quickly in straight sets; Ben Shelton survives marathon
Sabalenka finished off Rakhimova in one hour, putting her recent defeat to Qinwen Zheng at the Italian Open in the distance. She served up five aces and broke serve five times during the match.
With the win, Sabalenka became the first top seed to lose just one game in her opening match of the tournament since Serena Williams did so in 2013 versus Anna Tatishvili. Williams went on to win the French Open that year, and Sabalenka would love to follow that path. Sabalenka has never made it to the finals at Roland-Garros, getting as far as the semifinals in 2023, when she lost in three sets to Karolina Muchová.
Sabalenka joked after her match that she would ask for advice from 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who was being honored at Roland-Garros following his retirement.
'He is such an inspiration to young players," Sabalenka said, via The Tennis Gazette. "I will try and stick around to watch the ceremony, and ask him, please do you have advice on how to win this tournament?'
Up next for Sabalenka is Jil Teichmann on Wednesday.
The United States' brightest young tennis star needed a little more time than expected Sunday, but is on to the second round. Roland Garros' No. 12 seed defeated Italy's Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the night session.
Time of match: three hours and 31 minutes.
The 22-year-old Shelton reached the third round at the French Open last year and is coming off his second career Grand Slam semifinal at the 2025 Australian Open. He also had his girlfriend, Washington Spirit and USWNT star Trinity Rodman, in the stands supporting him while she recovers from a back injury.
NWSL and USWNT forward Trinity Rodman was in the audience to support boyfriend Ben Shelton during his Round 1 win at Roland Garros 🫶 pic.twitter.com/PJhjhUovlI
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 25, 2025
Tommy Paul made news recently off the court by having his truck repossessed in Florida while he played in the Rome Open. Paul lost to Jannik Sinner in that tournament, but earned enough prize money to get his truck back.
Presumably, he'll have no such concerns preoccupying him in Paris. The No. 12 seed defeated Elmer Moller in four sets, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. After the losing the first set, a rain delay allowed Paul an opportunity to reset.
Paul will face Márton Fucsovics in the second round. Fucsovics beat Tristan Schoolkate in straight sets in his first-round match.
Following a first-round defeat at the Rome Open, No. 15 seed Frances Tiafoe rebounded with a win over Roman Safiullin, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4. Tiafoe seemed to have difficulty maintaining focus during the second set and Safiulli nearly made him pay for it.
The American has struggled so far this year, losing five of nine matches heading into Paris. Roland-Garros has been rough on Tiafoe, where he's won only four career matches.
Tiafoe moves on to play Pablo Carreño Busta in the second round on Wednesday. He lost in the first round in his first six French Opens, but has now gotten to the second round in four consecutive years. Tiafoe has only advanced to the third round at Roland-Garros once, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in 2023.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Tennis legend reveals diagnosis with rare chronic autoimmune disease
Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis — a neuromuscular autoimmune disease she discussed during a recent interview with The Associated Press — while she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during, and after, a career that included nine Grand Slam titles and a place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. 'I would be playing with some kids or family members, and I would miss a ball. I was like, 'Yeah, I see two balls.' These are obviously symptoms that you can't ignore,' Seles said. 'And, for me, this is when this journey started. And it took me quite some time to really absorb it, speak openly about it, because it's a difficult one. It affects my day-to-day life quite a lot.' The 51-year-old Seles, who won her first major trophy at age 16 at the 1990 French Open and played her last match in 2003, said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the U.S. Open, which starts on Aug. 24, to raise awareness about what is known as MG. Advertisement 4 Monica Seles said she was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis three years ago and is speaking publicly about it for the first time ahead of the U.S. Open. AP The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke calls it 'a chronic neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the voluntary muscles' and 'most commonly impacts young adult women (under 40) and older men (over 60) but … can occur at any age, including childhood.' Seles said she'd never heard of the condition until seeing a doctor and being referred to a neurologist after noticing symptoms such as double vision and weakness in her arms — 'just blowing my hair out … became very difficult,' she said — and legs. Advertisement 'When I got diagnosed, I was like, 'What?!'' said Seles, who is partnering with argenx, an immunology company headquartered in the Netherlands, to promote their Go for Greater campaign. 'So this is where — I can't emphasize enough — I wish I had somebody like me speak up about it.' It's been three decades since Seles returned to competition at the 1995 U.S. Open, making it to the final, more than two years after she was attacked by a man with a knife at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. 4 Monica Seles holds the trophy and a toy Kangaroo after winning the women's final over Germany's Anke Huber at the Australian Open tennis Championships in Melbourne, Jan. 27, 1996. AP 4 Seles reacts during a match against her Slovakian opponent Daniela Hantuchova, 02 June 2002 in Paris. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 'The way they welcomed me … after my stabbing, I will never forget,' Seles said about the fans in New York. 'Those are the moments that stay with you.' She talks about learning to live a 'new normal' nowadays and characterizes her health as another in a series of life steps that required adapting. 4 Monica Seles first noticed the symptoms of myasthenia gravis while she was swinging a racket the way she'd done so many times during, and after, her career. AP 'I had to, in tennis terms, I guess, reset — hard reset — a few times. I call my first hard reset when I came to the U.S. as a young 13-year-old (from Yugoslavia). Didn't speak the language; left my family. It's a very tough time. Then, obviously, becoming a great player, it's a reset, too, because the fame, money, the attention, changes (everything), and it's hard as a 16-year-old to deal with all that. Then obviously my stabbing — I had to do a huge reset,' Seles said. Advertisement 'And then, really, being diagnosed with myasthenia gravis: another reset. But one thing, as I tell kids that I mentor: 'You've got to always adjust. That ball is bouncing, and you've just got to adjust,'' she added. 'And that's what I'm doing now.'
Associated Press
7 hours ago
- Associated Press
Pirates look to break 3-game losing streak, play the Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates (51-69, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (74-44, first in the NL Central) Milwaukee; Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Paul Skenes (7-8, 1.94 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 162 strikeouts); Brewers: Freddy Peralta (13-5, 3.03 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 141 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Brewers -117, Pirates -103; over/under is 7 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates, on a three-game losing streak, take on the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee has a 74-44 record overall and a 40-20 record in home games. Brewers pitchers have a collective 3.61 ERA, which ranks second in MLB play. Pittsburgh has a 17-40 record in road games and a 51-69 record overall. The Pirates are 36-12 in games when they out-hit their opponents. Tuesday's game is the ninth time these teams square off this season. The Brewers have a 5-3 advantage in the season series. TOP PERFORMERS: Christian Yelich ranks second on the Brewers with 35 extra base hits (13 doubles and 22 home runs). Brice Turang is 12 for 38 with three doubles, five home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games. Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with 18 home runs while slugging .399. Nick Gonzales is 16 for 43 with two doubles and three RBIs over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Brewers: 10-0, .318 batting average, 3.40 ERA, outscored opponents by 43 runs Pirates: 4-6, .228 batting average, 5.42 ERA, outscored by 12 runs INJURIES: Brewers: Logan Henderson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jacob Misiorowski: 15-Day IL (leg), Jackson Chourio: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jordan Montgomery: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Bauers: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Rhys Hoskins: 10-Day IL (thumb), Garrett Mitchell: 60-Day IL (oblique), Rob Zastryzny: 15-Day IL (ribs), Connor Thomas: 60-Day IL (elbow), Robert Gasser: 60-Day IL (elbow) Pirates: Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Giancarlo Stanton's solo home run (11)
Giancarlo Stanton hits a solo home run to left field, increasing the Yankees' lead to 2-0 in the 2nd and passing Paul Konerko for 45th all-time
