Ferrand-Prevot discusses Paris-Roubaix Femmes win
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot describes her emotions after becoming the first French winner of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes, explaining what went into her impressive victory.
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New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Coco Gauff has three break points. She takes none
Follow reaction to Coco Gauff's French Open victory after the 21-year-old American's thrilling three-set battle with the World No. 1 Getty Images The Athletic Coco Gauff fought back from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 in a rollercoaster French Open final. It is the second Grand Slam singles triumph of Gauff's career and her maiden Roland Garros title, adding to the US Open title she won in 2023, also by beating Sabalenka. 'I was going through a lot of things when I lost here three years ago,' Gauff said after her victory, referencing her straight sets defeat to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 final. 'I'm just glad to be back here. I was going through a lot of dark thoughts. Three finals ... I guess I got the most important win. That's all that matters.' Sabalenka recovered from a 4-1 deficit in an exciting first set tiebreak only to make a huge number of mistakes in the second and third as Gauff seized control. 'This hurts so much,' the World No. 1 said afterwards. 'Congratulations to Coco, she was a better player than me.' Get involved: live@ GO FURTHER French Open final: Coco Gauff beats Aryna Sabalenka to win second Grand Slam title Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Getty Images Gauff *3-4 Sabalenka Sabalenka goes long, 10 points in a row, and another unforced error, 11 on the bounce! Gauff has definitely stepped it up, but how has she lost that feel so quickly? Tennis is such a mental game at times like these. Sabalenka needs to slow things down, take her time, trust her processes. Oosh, wide and into the tramlines, 12 points in a row. She chews her lip unhappily. Three break points! One saved as Gauff isn't accurate enough. Two saved as Sabalenka whips a brutal forehand into space. And three saved, Sabalenka has dug herself out! Gauff goes down on her haunches to hit a flat backhand and Sabalenka just unleashes another winner. Deuce. Catharsis, thy name is Aryna. This game is still alive, though. Gauff goes for it, error, then nets a backhand return, back to deuce. Getty Images Nine straight points for Gauff, to go from 4-1, 40-0 down to 4-3. Spike Lee is loving it! Sabalenka rapidly going off the boil here. Up until this game, Gauff had committed more errors despite taking far less risk on her groundstrokes than Sabalenka is doing with her first-strike attack. Getty Images Gauff 3-4* Sabalenka Sabalenka maybe a touch over-aggressive, 15-0 down, five straight points lost and now Sabalenka is the one chuntering away unhappily and glancing uncertainly to her box. Oh, that's top. Long rally, covering the whole court, Gauff comes into the net and curls a looping parabola back over a helpless Sabalenka's head. Gauff goes 40-0 up, then holds to love. Not long ago, Sabalenka looked irresistible, borderline unplayable. Not so now. Getty Images Gauff *2-4 Sabalenka Early days, of course. But Sabalenka looks in fearsome form out there at the moment. Not sure anyone in the women's game could live with her. Even her bad shots are coming off! A frankly awful drop shot, Gauff seizes on it desperately... and overcooks it. Now 40-0, and could this be her third game in six she wins to love? No. Error, and then Gauff shows her the quality of drop shot Sabalenka should be aiming for. At 40-30, the red brick dust swirls around behind Sabalenka's head and she has to set up a serve several times. Double fault for deuce! Sabalenka complains to her box but you can't do much about the weather, Aryna. Poor drop shot from Sabalenka, just becomes a setup for Gauff, who feints right and slaps it left for a winner. Break point... And Sabalenka nets! Gauff with a shout of 'Come on!'. Four points in a row from 40-0 down. Such minerals from the American. Getty Images Gauff 1-4* Sabalenka From deuce, a rollicking return at Gauff's toes and that's advantage back to her opponent. Decent serve from Gauff... but in a French Open final, decent isn't good enough. Sabalenka creams her return back past a static Gauff. A sizzler of a forehand winner. Getty Images That was seven straight lost points on serve before Coco saved triple break point. If she gets back to level in this set, those three saves will have been a big turning point. Getty Images Gauff 1-3* Sabalenka Super setup from Sabalenka, who draws Gauff in with the drop shot, before settling into a strong foundation and pinging a rocket of a backhand passing shot down the line. Sabalenka goes hard to Gauff's backhand side, and it's long. 0-30. Gauff gives a little nod to herself in acknowledgement. But that's not what she wanted! Another miscue off a duff part of the racket and it's miles out. 0-40 and three more break points. Sabalenka long, unforced error, and the Belarusian grimaces. Big serve down the T, return long, two saved! And a third as she maneuvers Sabalenka into the corner then swats away a volley, imbuing it with the annoyance and frustration of the match so far. Cracking serve again, advantage... but she nets. Deuce. We saw Sabalenka use her first-strike tennis to knock down Iga Świątek early in their semifinal. Świątek responded in two ways: flattening out her own strikes to match Sabalenka's, and returning from a bit deeper to get into rallies, in which she could move Sabalenka all about the court. Gauff's forehand grip, like Świątek's, is extreme enough that flattening out is a bit difficult, and she doesn't have the vicious, spinning power behind her ball that Świątek could use to rip the initiative away from Sabalenka in the second set of their match. So Gauff needs to do what Świątek did: extend rallies, move Sabalenka, take away the first strike. Her groundstroke artillery just isn't as heavy. It's going to be tough. The wind's picked up a little, and may have contributed to that complete mishit from Gauff to fall down 3-1. Getty Images Gauff *1-3 Sabalenka Not so good and then good from Gauff, who on the stretch can only volley a backhand at the net straight down, before ripping one beyond Sabalenka. Taste of her own medicine. Now this is interesting. Sabalenka is tossing the ball pretty high for her serve and the ball is catching in the wind a bit, which she mentions to the umpire, before missing the first serve. Again the second is good, and Gauff errs, 30-15. Gauff clearly trying to match the aggression and speed on Sabalenka's balls, and it works there as Sabalenka is rushed into netting for 30-all. A near-unplayable serve at a potentially tricky part of the game. Ace. Gauff looks impassive. Ah, Gauff's eyes light up at a central forehand in the slot but she mishits it. 3-1. Getty Images Takeaway from three games... Sabalenka is trying to attack Gauff's strength, which is her running. She's moving the ball around the court rather than trying to hit through it. That should pay big dividends if she can keep Gauff from camping in the back to defend. Getty Images And there's the first double fault for Coco, often her Achilles heel. It gives Sabalenka an opening at 0-30, which she tuns into a break to love. Eight straight points for Sabalenka, who crunched a pair of backhands to seal that break. Gauff 1-2* Sabalenka Uh oh. Gauff goes wide, and worried about Sabalenka's brutal response to most second serves, overdoes it and double-faults. 0-30. Stinging return, return plus one whistles past Gauff's left. Sabalenka then sends Gauff careering to her left again, super get, before flipping her to the far right of the court. Again, Gauff has the foot speed to get there, but Sabalenka can calmly steer a volley into open court. A break to love after a hold to love. Sabalenka is cooking. Getty Images There's the first drop shot from Sabalenka. Increasingly such an important part of her arsenal. It works well, drawing a missed Gauff forehand for 40-0. Sabalenka holds to love to level things at 1-1. Getty Images Gauff *1-1 Sabalenka Wow, Aryna Sabalenka laughs in the face of danger and looks jeopardy in the whites of its eyes. She flings loads of torque into a second serve and it's an ace out wide! You don't see that often. Another booming drive to Gauff's right, 30-0. Sabalenka has the silk as well as the steel, though, throwing in a drop shot and even the quickest player on the tour can't capitalise, spooning her cross-court effort wide. Big serve, again, return wide. 1-1. Getty Images It's a warmish afternoon, not much of a breeze. Pretty mild conditions. Big noise for Gauff as she holds to 30 to take the first game of the match. Seems like the crowd are pretty evenly split at this point, we'll see how that develops as the match goes on. Gauff 1-0* Sabalenka Gauff's first serve is wide but Sabalenka then goes long on the second, 15-0 in the first point of the match and a nice little nerve-settle for the slight underdog. Two wild swipes after robust returns from Sabalenka, 15-30, but a big serve makes it 30-30. Sabalenka is on top of the rally after eyeing up a slower second serve, but Gauff changes the pace with a slice and Sabalenka nets. A seriously spinning forehand into the bottom-right corner of the court and Sabalenka nets again. Getty Images Top seed Aryna Sabalenka against second seed Coco Gauff. On the red clay of Court Philippe-Chatrier, Roland Garros' show court, the showpiece at the 2025 French Open. Gauff to serve first. And it's live!
New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
So what happened yesterday?
Alcaraz, 22, fought from two sets down and saved three championship points to defend his Roland Garros crown in a magnificent six-hour Paris thriller Getty Images Carlos Alcaraz produced a comeback for the ages to defeat Jannik Sinner and take the 2025 French Open final in a six-hour instant classic in Paris. Alcaraz, 22, defended his title by coming back from two sets down and saving three championship points to win 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The Spaniard was broken twice as the world No. 1 and slight favorite Sinner started strongly on Court Philippe-Chatrier, and Alcaraz went two sets behind after being edged out of the second-set tiebreak at sunny Roland Garros. Alcaraz won three breaks in the third set and won a dramatic tiebreak to level the match before he went 7-0 up in the championship breaker with some celestial tennis and sealed his triumph with a laser forehand. GO FURTHER Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner to win French Open in tennis classic Connections: Sports Edition Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Firstly, we should direct you to our live coverage from Saturday's action, where you can recap everything that happened, play-by-play, in gloriously full detail. As the below article will tell you, Coco Gauff fought back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a titanic French Open final. Gauff, the second seed, lost a tiebreak at the end of an impossibly close opening set in Paris, but battled back to claim her second Grand Slam title, winning 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4. GO FURTHER French Open final: Coco Gauff beats Aryna Sabalenka to win second Grand Slam title Getty Images We would love to hear from you. Whether it's a question you have always wanted answered, a comment, or an observation... We welcome it all. Send us an email at: live@ — and we'll feature the best of what we receive in this live coverage. Don't be shy. Get typing. The women's doubles final is also on today, also on Philippe-Chatrier. In that match, the unseeded Aleksandra Krunić/Anna Danilina take on Italian duo Jasmine Paolini/Sara Errani (2). The mixed doubles was wrapped up on Thursday as Evan King and Taylor Townsend of the United States were beaten in straight sets by Errani and Andrea Vavassori, 6-4, 6-2. While the men's doubles finished yesterday with victory for a veteran duo. Horacio Zeballos, 40, and Marcel Granollers, 39, the fifth seeds, beat Brits Joe Salisbury/Neal Skupski (8) in three sets, 6-0, 6-7(5), 7-5. As aforementioned, it's the men's singles final on the main show court, Philippe-Chatrier, at 9 a.m. ET, 2 p.m. BST. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have battled all the way to a championship tiebreak in the men's singles final at the 2025 French Open in Paris today. Alcaraz drew an early advantage but world No. 1 Sinner hit back to take the opener 6-4 and again to force an early break in the second, before the Italian eventually won the tiebreak to go within a set of the title. On Court Philippe-Chatrier, champion Alcaraz (2) battled back to win the third set. With Sinner on the brink of victory, Alcaraz saved three match points to force a tiebreak before pulling level to force a final set. TV: TNT, truTV, Tennis Channel (U.S.), TNT Sports, Discovery+ GO FURTHER Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and the French Open final that neither player will lose Roland Garros, Paris, France The imposing stadium complex is in the 16th arrondissement (district) of the French capital city. Court Philippe-Chatrier, Suzanne-Lenglen, and Simonne-Mathieu are the show courts here. It's the only major played on clay and is a staple of the tennis calendar every year. The Athletic It's a busy time in the sports world — and there is no let up in the scheduling as spring becomes summer. It is NBA Finals time as Game 1 of the season-defining series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers lived up to the hype on Thursday night. Over in the soccer world, the European club seasons might be over but we have the Club World Cup and Women's Euros to look forward to. Plus the Formula One and MLB schedules are continuing and Wimbledon isn't far away either. The Athletic is your one-stop shop to follow all those sports and more, with our industry-leading coverage. So what are you waiting for? Sign up on an exclusive offer here. Getty Images Fancy tuning in to the action live on TV, alongside our live coverage? Here are your options: U.S.: TNT, truTV, Tennis Channel TNT, truTV, Tennis Channel UK: TNT Sports, Discovery+ TNT Sports, Discovery+ Canada: TSN TSN Australia: Stan Sports Stan Sports France: Sport, Amazon Prime Getty Images The action starts at 3 p.m. local time (CEST) in France, which is 2 p.m. BST in the UK, 9 a.m. ET and 6 a.m. PT on the east and west coast of the United States, respectively. Hello and welcome along, everyone, to The Athletic for the final day of the 2025 French Open. Today at Roland Garros we have the pleasure of experiencing the men's singles final between the top two seeds, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. It promises to be a wonderfully entertaining occasion here at Roland Garros in the French capital. So stick with us and let us take you through all the build-up to the tournament showpiece.
New York Times
5 hours ago
- New York Times
Club World Cup team guide – Paris Saint-Germain: The breathtaking yet complicated champions of Europe
What do you get when you cross a free-spending, state-sponsored instrument of geopolitical power and a football team whose youth, verve and precision cannot help but set the heart racing? The answer, of course, is 2025-issue Paris Saint-Germain. On the pitch, there is a huge amount to admire, maybe even love about the newly crowned champions of Europe. The context, though — Qatari money, football club as luxury lifestyle brand — is much less appealing. Now the mixed-feeling roadshow heads stateside for a crack at something resembling global domination. Follow the Club World Cup on The Athletic this summer… Unbelievably good. The French league isn't much of a litmus test — they won that in 2024-25, as they have in 11 of the last 13 seasons — but their performances in the Champions League left little room for doubt that they are the best team in Europe by a distance. They thoroughly outplayed Premier League champions Liverpool, put four past Manchester City and made light work of Arsenal. Then, in the final, they made Inter look like a bunch of amateurs, pummelling them with such relentlessness that just watching it felt borderline immoral. Oh, and here's the kicker: most of the players are barely past school age, so the feeling is that this is only the start. By cruising to Champions League glory? No, that came later. In fact, PSG qualified for the World Cup back in December, as the — glamour alert — second-best ranked eligible team in the UEFA four-year ranking. Stick that on a scarf at your earliest convenience. PSG line up in a 4-3-3 formation. In most matches, there is no fixed point in attack. Ousmane Dembele might start centrally but he drifts deep and wide, sometimes swapping positions with one of the wingers. The press is ferocious and coordinated. The midfield, anchored by Vitinha, provides stability and control. Both full-backs have the licence to get forward, although speed merchant Achraf Hakimi is usually the more influential in the final third. The XI that started the Champions League final is probably their best, although Bradley Barcola — a lovely, flowing dribbler — is an A-grade option on the wing. When a bit more physicality is needed, Goncalo Ramos is another alternative up front. A few months ago, there was a sense that Luis Enrique was still a little underappreciated. He won the treble with Barcelona in the 2014-15 season but many painted that as an aftershock of the Pep Guardiola era. His Spain side were seductive but did not win anything. Now, though? The consensus view is that his work in Paris has put him on the highest rung of the coaching ladder. This season's achievements have underlined his qualities: his tactical acumen, his man management, his energy, his ability to convince players that the collective comes before the individual. Then there is his personality and the forces that have shaped it. Luis Enrique's youngest daughter died from bone cancer in 2019; the grace and determination that he has displayed in the years since have rightly made him a hugely popular figure at PSG and beyond. You could make a strong case for Dembele here, but the man who really makes PSG tick is Vitinha. He may not be the most showy or the most physically impressive — he's practically begging to be relieved of his lunch money — but his ability to set the tempo of a match is second to none. The 25-year-old is one of those players who appears to have a bird's-eye view of the match. He manipulates space, manages it. He never gets flustered. He plays one-touch passes but he also puts his foot on the ball, recycles it, allows an attack to breathe. Pick any PSG goal you'd care to. Rewind the tape. There he is, tap-tap-tap, moving the chess pieces into place. Signed for an initial €50million (£42m; $57m) from Rennes last August, Desire Doue spent the first half of the 2024-25 season on the fringes of the side, usually coming on as an impact substitute. When Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arrived in January, it appeared the youngster would have to get even more comfortable on the bench at the Parc des Princes. Advertisement Doue clearly had other plans. He was sensational after the turn of the year, clawing his way into Luis Enrique's starting XI and never letting up, eventually producing a gala display in the Champions League final. It was a performance that summed him up, bursting with skill and vivacity but also maturity; witness his cold-blooded assist for Hakimi's opening goal when he would have been forgiven for shooting himself. What catches your eye with Doue is his all-round game. He can beat a man with trickery or with a turn of pace. He shoots explosively from range. He can thread the needle with a pass but he also knows when to keep it simple. He presses like a demon. He is also just 20. The potential is scary. Brilliantly, PSG fans have a chant to the tune of Scotland's national anthem. All together now: Oh, City of Light, feel the warmth of our hearts. Do you see our passion when we walk close to you? In this conquest, to drive out the enemy, So that our colours shine again. PSG are unusual among the major European clubs in not having significant competition in their own city — albeit the rise of Paris FC, who earned promotion to Ligue 1 this season, may change things slightly. Historically, their biggest rivals have always been Marseille. To say that there is no love lost between the two sides would be to underplay the depth of feeling here. On one level, it transcends sport and strays into the territory of north-south stereotypes (Parisians cast as haughty aristocrats, Marseille's citizens as corrupt layabouts) but football has added a few layers of its own, not least with a catalogue of violent incidents between the two sets of fans over the years. For three seasons after their founding in 1970, PSG played in red jerseys. Only in 1974 did they adopt what we now think of as their classic strip — predominantly blue with a wide red vertical stripe down the middle. That kit was designed by Daniel Hechter, a fashion designer who served as PSG president between 1974 and 1978, and was supposedly inspired by that worn by Johan Cruyff's Ajax. PSG moved away from 'the Hechter shirt' in 2021, a move that prompted protests. 'Respect our colours, respect our history,' ran one campaign by fan group Collectif Ultras Paris, who called on supporters to boycott the new kit. They play thrilling football. The players are hungry, committed and unselfish. Luis Enrique is one of the good guys. Again, though, we must always bear in mind that this team also represents something much bigger: state money, state power, state strategy. Your ability to enjoy the team will depend on your ability to compartmentalise. (All kick-offs ET/BST) (Top photos: Aurelien Meunier/Eurasia Sport Image/Getty; design: Kelsea Petersen/The Athletic)
