Aryna Sabalenka ends Iga Swiatek's French Open reign in semi-final rollercoaster
The irresistible force beat the immovable object as runaway world number one Sabalenka inflicted the four-time champion's first defeat at the tournament in four years.
In the first meeting between the WTA's two most dominant players at a grand slam since the 2022 US Open, Swiatek's run of 26 consecutive victories at the Paris grand slam was halted in a 7-6 (1) 4-6 6-0 defeat.
FIRST ROLAND-GARROS FINAL FOR SABALENKA ✅👊#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/gpOXF2do27
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2025
A three-time grand slam champion on hard courts, Sabalenka finally made her first final on the red dirt of Roland Garros.
After a match which would have graced the final – and it probably would have been had Swiatek's ranking not slipped to five – Sabalenka said: 'Honestly it feels incredible.
'I understand the job is not done yet but I'm thrilled with the performance and this win.'
Sabalenka's powerful, deep returns unsettled 24-year-old Swiatek at the start as she raced into a 3-0 lead with two breaks.
The Belarusian thought she had served an ace for a 5-1 lead, only for a let call from umpire Kader Nouni, who felt it had flicked the net cord.
The momentum suddenly shifted with Swiatek winning four successive games, before Sabalenka held and then produced a stunning forehand winner on the run to break for 6-5.
She could not hold, though, with Swiatek's returns now doing considerable damage, but Sabalenka regrouped impressively to take the tie-break for the concession of just one point.
The quality increased in the second set, so much so that any slight mistake from one player was brutally punished by the other.
Iga Swiatek levels the match! 💪
The defending champion roars back, taking the second set 6–4 against Aryna Sabalenka. All square in this Roland-Garros semi-final thriller!#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/N4czbXeZrp
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) June 5, 2025
Polish star Swiatek was making far more forays to the net than usual, and it paid off when a perfect cushioned volley into the corner levelled the match.
Sabalenka's levels – including her noise levels – moved up a notch again in the decider and the 27-year-old drew first blood with a break for 2-0.
A second break knocked the stuffing out of the defending champion, who looked resigned to her fate long before Sabalenka's final backhand winner flew past her.
Swiatek, now without a single title to her name – her last was Roland Garros 12 months ago – said: ' I love playing here, so for sure I'm happy that I was fortunate enough to play so many great tournaments here.
'Even this one, you know, I feel like I played better than in the weeks before. I'm just happy that I have this place to come back to every year and just try to push myself.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Rory McIlroy shoots second-round 78 and misses cut at Canadian Open
Rory McIlroy endured a day to forget as he missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open after shooting a dismal second-round 78 on Friday. The Masters champion carded a quadruple bogey, a double and four other bogeys in an eight-over-par round that left him languishing 21 shots behind halfway leader Cameron Champ, who finished on 12 under. Advertisement It is the first time the world number two has missed the cut since the Open at Royal Troon last July. There was better news for Irishman Shane Lowry, whose two-under-par 68 took him to eight under and a share of seventh place along with six other players. "I think there's still learnings that you have to take from a day like today." Rory reflects on missing his first cut since @TheOpen in 2024. — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 6, 2025 Champ's fellow American Andrew Putnam climbed to second on 10 under after a superb eight-under-par-62 while Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen, who began the day with a share of the lead, was tied third on nine under with Canadians Richard Lee and Nick Taylor. McIlroy's round continued his troubled build-up to next week's US Open at Oakmont having been forced to switch to a different driver. Advertisement The Northern Irishman's previous model was deemed non-conforming in a random test on the eve of last month's US PGA Championship, in which he finished joint-47th. He was already facing an uphill battle after shooting one over par on Thursday and his day began to unravel after taking an eight on the par-four fifth. Is this any good? 👀 @ShaneLowryGolf almost aces the 11th from 200 yards. 📺 Golf Channel — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 5, 2025 That occurred after he fired his second shot out of bounds from the rough and was forced to take a further penalty after playing a provisional. He then missed the green with his fifth shot and needed three more to find the hole. Things got worse from there with further bogeys at the eighth and 10th before he double-bogeyed the 11th and then dropped more shots at the 13th and 17th. There was at least some relief with birdies on the 15th and at the last. Advertisement Champ delivered his second successive bogey-free round as he followed his opening 62 with 66. Justin Rose, beaten by McIlroy in a play-off at the Masters in April, also missed the cut after finishing one under following a round of 74. World number eight Ludvig Aberg also ran up a quadruple bogey on his card but held on to make the cut on four under after a 68.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
What UK time is UFC 316? Start time for Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O'Malley
Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley go head-to-head for a second time later this evening - with the latter hoping to reclaim the bantamweight title Sean O'Malley will be looking to reclaim his bantamweight title when he takes on rival Merab Dvalishvili later this evening. The pair first went head-to-head last September - with Dvalishvili going on to dominate proceedings, winning the bantamweight showdown by decision. O'Malley immediately went back to the drawing board and made several lifestyle changes ahead of the sequel. While the American has not fought since the first encounter, Dvalishvili successfully defended the strap earlier this year, beating rising star Umar Nurmagomedov. The co-main event sees a women's bantamweight title fight between Julianna Pena and Kayla Harrison take place, while an epic welterweight clash between Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland also features on the main card. And so, here is everything you need to know about tonight's fights... What time will Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O'Malley start? Tonight's mouthwatering UFC event will take place at the Prudential Center in New Jersey, USA. The early prelims are scheduled to get underway at 11pm BST (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET), with the prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday (5pm PT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET on Saturday). The main card will start at around 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT / 9pm CT / 10pm ET on Saturday). The main event between Dvalishvili and O'Malley will likely take place at around 5am BST on Sunday. The fight should not start later than this but could be brought forward if the prelim fights are completed earlier than expected. How to watch Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O'Malley Tonight's action will be shown live on TNT Sports. Fans will be able to stream the event on the broadcaster's app, while Discovery+ will also air the action in the UK. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the event live. Full fight card and undercard Main card Merab Dvalishvili vs Sean O'MalleyJulianna Pena vs Kayla HarrisonKelvin Gastelum vs Joe PyferMario Bautista vs Patchy MixVicente Luque vs Kevin Holland Prelims Bruno Silva vs Joshua VanAzamat Murzakanov vs Brendson RibeiroSerghei Spivac vs Waldo Cortes-AcostaKhaos Williams vs Andreas Gustafsson Early prelims Ariane da Silva vs Wang CongJeka Saragih vs. Joo Sang YooQuillan Salkilld vs. Yanal AshmouzMarQuel Mederos vs. Mark Choinski Quotes corner Merab Dvalishvili:"This is a new fight. This is a new challenge. Like Sean said, he will be 70 per cent better [than the first fight]. I know now he's humbled, but he wants to knock me out and I'm here to not let him do that. I'm going to break him. And after we can be friends, no problem. But on June 7 we are enemies again. I'm going to show [I'm] the better fight[er] and break him." Sean O'Malley: 'I truly believe I'm going to knock Merab out. Come Sunday, no one is going to give a f**k about Merab, and that's just is what it is. This is a completely different fight, but I'm undefeated in rematches and we're going to keep it that way."
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Rory McIlroy shoots second-round 78 and misses cut at Canadian Open
Rory McIlroy endured a day to forget as he missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open after shooting a dismal second-round 78 on Friday. The Masters champion carded a quadruple bogey, a double and four other bogeys in an eight-over-par round that left him languishing 21 shots behind halfway leader Cameron Champ, who finished on 12 under. It is the first time the world number two has missed the cut since the Open at Royal Troon last July. There was better news for Irishman Shane Lowry, whose two-under-par 68 took him to eight under and a share of seventh place along with six other players. Champ's fellow American Andrew Putnam climbed to second on 10 under after a superb eight-under-par-62 while Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen, who began the day with a share of the lead, was tied third on nine under with Canadians Richard Lee and Nick Taylor. McIlroy's round continued his troubled build-up to next week's US Open at Oakmont having been forced to switch to a different driver. The Northern Irishman's previous model was deemed non-conforming in a random test on the eve of last month's US PGA Championship, in which he finished joint-47th. He was already facing an uphill battle after shooting one over par on Thursday and his day began to unravel after taking an eight on the par-four fifth. That occurred after he fired his second shot out of bounds from the rough and was forced to take a further penalty after playing a provisional. He then missed the green with his fifth shot and needed three more to find the hole. Things got worse from there with further bogeys at the eighth and 10th before he double-bogeyed the 11th and then dropped more shots at the 13th and 17th. There was at least some relief with birdies on the 15th and at the last. Champ delivered his second successive bogey-free round as he followed his opening 62 with 66. Justin Rose, beaten by McIlroy in a play-off at the Masters in April, also missed the cut after finishing one under following a round of 74. World number eight Ludvig Aberg also ran up a quadruple bogey on his card but held on to make the cut on four under after a 68.
