French Open

Rafael Nadal's 2007 French Open-Winning Racket Fetches $118,000 at Auction In a remarkable turn of events, Rafael Nadal's iconic racket, used during his 2007 French Open triumph against Roger Federer, has been sold at auction for an impressive sum of over $118,000. The sale, which took place on Monday, positions this piece of tennis memorabilia among the highest-priced items of its kind. Nadal's memorable victory over Federer in the 2007 final in Paris, where he secured his third Grand Slam title, marked a

Roger Federer said he hopes Rafa Nadal will recover in time for the French Open and that it would be a "brutal" blow for tennis if the 14-time Roland Garros champion is absent this year. Nadal has been dealing with a hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open in January, and fears that the Spaniard may miss the Paris Grand Slam grew after he pulled out of this week's Italian Open. Nadal skipped last week's Madrid Open and also missed tournaments at

Rafael Nadal regained his aura of invincibility on clay on Sunday by brutally crushing Casper Ruud to lift the French Open trophy for an incredible 14th time and widen the gap at the top of the men's all-time list of Grand Slam winners. Norwegian Ruud became the latest victim in a long line of challengers who have unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Spaniard in the Roland Garros final since Nadal won his maiden title on the red clay in 2005. There was a

Norway's Casper Ruud and Denmark's Holger Rune led a Viking charge into the last 16 of the French Open with impressive wins at Roland Garros on Saturday. Eighth seed Ruud battled back to beat Italy's Lorenzo Sonego to take his place in the fourth round in Paris for the first time having reached round three for the past three years. A little later, Danish 19-year-old Rune continued his sensational progress as he trounced France's Hugo Gaston. Things looked bad for Ruud when a

Japan's Naomi Osaka, a self-confessed introvert who withdrew from the French Open and Wimbledon on mental health grounds, has encouraged girls around the world to embrace what makes them different. Osaka, 23, one of Japan's best gold medal prospects at the Tokyo Olympics, used her spot in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) "Stronger Together" campaign to say that the definition of an Olympian is broader than sometimes thought. "People might think I'm quiet. Different. That I don't fit the box of what an

Czech Barbora Krejcikova reached the French Open final as she beat Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari 7-5 4-6 9-7 on Thursday in a nail-biting, see-saw contest in which she saved a match point and overcame a wrong line call that held up her celebrations. Krejcikova dragged herself back from the brink of facing a match point at 3-5 in the third set and then rode an emotional roller coaster when she thought she had booked her place in the final before a wrong

Defending champion Iga Swiatek held off a fierce challenge from Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk to reach the French Open quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-4 victory on Monday. The eighth-seeded Pole has now won 22 consecutive sets at Roland Garros going into her clash with Greek 17th seed Maria Sakkari as she bids to become the first woman to retain theRoland Garros title since Justine Henin in 2007. Against an 18-year-old opponent who threw everything at her, Swiatek kept her composure on an empty court

PARIS: Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas overcame a sluggish start to reach the second round of the French Open with a 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-1 victory over France's Jeremy Chardy on Sunday (May 30). The fifth seed, who extended his winning run on clay to five matches after clinching the title in Lyon last week, was in trouble in the opening set in an empty court Philippe Chatrier after spectators were sent home under a 9pm local time curfew before making his superiority count. Tsitsipas, who

Iga Swiatek returns to the scene of her biggest triumph on Monday when she starts her French Open defence against unseeded Kaja Juvan, while Serena Williams will resume her quest for a 24th major in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier. Swiatek, who turns 20 on Monday, was catapulted into the spotlight at Roland Garros last year when she became Poland's first Grand Slam singles champion and the youngest woman to capture the title in Paris since Monica Seles in 1992. She

PARIS: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will set their sights on more Grand Slam history at Roland Garros as the French Open embraces a new and eerily empty era of night time tennis. A 14th title in Paris for Nadal would take him to a record-setting 21st major, surpassing the mark he shares with Roger Federer who has already written off his hopes of adding to his lone success in the French capital back in 2009. Djokovic, the champion in 2016, can move

American Coco Gauff is brimming with confidence ahead of the French Open, buoyed by strong results in Italy on clay in the past two weeks that have helped the 17-year-old climb 10 places to a career-best 25th in the rankings. Gauff has already made the fourth rounds of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in her nascent career, and this week she will be seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career when the clay court major starts on Sunday

Canadian Denis Shapovalov said on Sunday he will not play at the French Open due to a lingering shoulder injury. The world number 14 lost to Norway's Casper Ruud 7-6(6) 6-4 in Saturday's Geneva Open final. "I'm saddened to share that after consulting with my medical team I've made the difficult decision to withdrawal (sic) from @rolandgarros," he tweeted. "Unfortunately my shoulder has been bothering me and while medical tests look good, it is for the best to rest. See you in 2022,

LONDON: Alexander Zverev underlined his credentials as a French Open title contender with a battling 6-7(8) 6-4 6-3 victory over Italian Matteo Berrettini on Sunday to claim his fourth Masters 1000 crown and second Madrid Open title. Germany's Zverev, conqueror of claycourt specialists Rafa Nadal and Dominic Thiem en route to the final, dropped his first set of the tournament. However, he fought back under a closed roof at the Manolo Santana stadium to lift his first claycourt title since 2019. "I feel

The French Open, which last year was postponed by four months and took place in front of limited crowds, is due to start this year on May 23. French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said it was possible the French Open could be postoned for the second year amid the COVID-19 crisis. France entered a third nationwide lockdown on Saturday to contain the coronavirus spread, although professional sports have largely been spared. An exception is cycling’s Paris-Roubaix one-day race, which has been postponed from its original April 11

Leander Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Indian tennis icon Leander Paes on Monday said he is eyeing a French Open comeback this year in his quest to make a record eighth appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. Paes, 47, said he skipped the Australian Open as he is apprehensive of playing in a bio-bubble but is looking ahead to the French Open. Playing sport in a bio-bubble is

French Tennis Federation chief admitted that there is a possibility of holding the French Open 2020 behind closed doors and insisted that all options remain on the table to stage the tournament this year. Bernard Giudicelli, the President of FFT, said that the federation has “no regrets” of taking a unilateral decision to move the Roland Garros from May 24-June 7 to September 20-October 4. He explained that the series of events proved their decision was right. Earlier, the Sports Minister of France Roxana Maracineanu suggested that

When you are seven years old and you are watching the French Open, and you don't know better, you simply support Steffi Graf. It's 1992, she is up against Monica Seles and she is about to lose. My grandmother is cheering for Seles. This is less, I suspect, out of some studied appreciation of her style, and more because "someone else should get a chance, I say". As if tennis is not a ruthless meritocracy but a feel-good yoga retreat. My sister and

Maria Sharapova stepped away from the beautiful game of tennis after having amassed a total of 36 WTA titles, spending 21 weeks on top of the rankings and with a personal fortune estimated at $300 million. A star-studded career where she reached the pinnacle of women's tennis in her early days when she won Wimbledon at the age of 17. Sadly, her flourishing career had to end with an injury and fans all around the world were blown upon hearing the sudden retirement