Is a third French Open title in the cards for Iga Swiatek? On paper it should be, as the 20-year-old is ranked No. 1 in the world and is already a two-time champion at Roland Garros. However, Swiatek retired from her Rome semifinal match against Elena Rybakina, so there is some cause for concern. It may have been a precautionary move with a Grand Slam on the horizon, but you never know.
Regardless, Swiatek is not in dominant form. Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are both on fire and can certainly challenge Swiatek in Paris even if the top-seeded Pole is 100 percent physically.
Here are my three best bets on the women’s side.
Elena Rybakina
Nobody wants to be on the same side of the draw as Swiatek, but if there is one player who can handle it that player is Rybakina. In advance of what would be a semifinal showdown at Roland Garros, Rybakina leads the head-to-head series 3-1–including 3-0 this season. The Kazakh has reached the final in two of the last three slams, with a title at Wimbledon last summer followed by a runner-up showing at the 2023 Australian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka secured her first slam title by beating Rybakina in the Aussie Open final. That result just may send the Belarusian off to the races. She has remained in fine form since, with a runner-up showing in Indian Wells (lost to Rybakina) followed by one clay-court title in Madrid (defeated Swiatek) and a clay-court runner-up result (lost to Swiatek). As the No. 2 seed, Sabalenka is in the bottom half of the Roland Garros draw opposite Swiatek and Rybakina. That in itself pretty much means you have to like her chances.
Jessica Pegula
Speaking of good draws, Pegula is sitting nicely in the bracket. Seeded fourth, the American would not face Sabalenka until the semifinals and would not run into either Swiatek or Rybakina until the title match. It is true that Pegula is better on hard courts than clay, but recent results on the slow stuff include a semifinal in Charleston and a quarterfinal in Madrid. The 29-year-old is playing well enough to capitalize on a favorable draw.
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who ya got?
I picked Rybakina over Saba in the final RC!(so far!)..but i feel Saba could be a winner too!..i don’t have a notion that Iga can defend her title this year..but i could be wrong!..let c!..hehe!
*Waves*
Hi M!!..😁👋..Missing Andy at RG too!..i hope he will make a big waves at Wimby!..C’mon Andy!!
Hi mira! Gosh this RG is miserable without Rafa!
Full of people I don’t want to win…
Hoping for a mad result like Struffy winning….😀😀
Hey hey hey amy!👋😀…sooo true what u said amy!..so sad can’t watch Rafa at RG this year..but..we have to get used to it..he will leave us for good soon anyway!
As a tennis fan & Tennis Bracket fan,i still will follow tennis with interest tho..Thank God for TDC!..at least it can give me something to think about when Rafa is not there!
Struffy win huh?hahaha..i have him go deep in my bracket i think..
I like to watch WTA mira! But men’s tennis, much of it, without Rafa and Fed, bores me.
And then there are so many boasters in the men’s. Endless wild claims and bragging and boasting. I can’t support anyone who does that.
I still have hopes for Rafa for next year. I was feeling very glum but I listened to 3 a podcast about the big 3 hosted by Gill Gross, Joel Drucker and Amy Lundy Dahl. None of these 3 are Rafa fans and all 3 said they thought he was right to pull out of RG and rest his body and they didn’t rule out his winning RG next year. These are all neutral tennis experts!!!
So I have real hopes for next year. I can’t rule out Rafa being a force until he actually retires.
Agree with u amy!..I always believe if Rafa is healthy enough to play,insyaallah he will win!..esp at RG!
Let’s c how he’s gonna respond when he come out from his injury time off..i am very curious/eager to see him play again!..hopefully he will be okay!
I pray we are right mira!!🙏🙏
It’s hard for me to watch RG. Much prefer WTA now.
But to think we can watch our dearest Rafa next year is some solace….
Gonna get a t shirt printed with I love Struffy!!😀
If only he could win! 😀 of course he won’t but nice to dream…
PS Now that Rafa is resting we could start the We love Struffy club! How about it? I am game…
Hahaha!!…u adore Struffy that much huh?..What is it about him that makes yor heart melt amy?
Once upon a time when i watched him play,i thought to myself,he could be one of those players that can bring big challenge to top players with his big serve..but when he fades to thin air with his inconsistency & mental weakness,there goes my interest for him too..but hey!..for u amy!..Struffy Club it is!..hehe
I don’t love Struffy in the 💘 sense of the word mira! It’s just that he is such an underdog he is sort of lovable and Wilander and co would have a huge on air nervous breakdown if he were to beat Alcaraz in the final. They would probably never recover! So.that seems extremely entertaining to me.
And seeing Struffy lift the trophy would be marvellous fun for we Rafa fans as none of Rafa’s rivals would have won. They would all have been beaten by Struffy!
Anyway there is something strangely endearing about Struffy! 😀
ILS! ( I love Struffy!)
A Ryba vs. Sabs final feels right to me, and this is the first time I don’t feel sure about Iga. She silently snuck in and stole a few GS and 1000-point tournaments while the others slept or had their attention on Barty.
😀
Pardon me, I must watch Elina Svitolina while the TC is showing it!
Swiatek over Sabalenka Final
Swiatek has the worst draw, and I have some doubts.
I’ve gone for the same, but not with any confidence.
Rybakina over Sabalenka .I think I have Pegula in the quarters.Did them late last night .
And not much confidence either.
Margot, Big Al, Mira, Amy,
If Iga goes out to Krecikova, Anhelina Kalinina, Ons Jabeur/ Rybakina, I’m okay with it. In fact, I can count on one hand those I don’t like. Most of the WTA; especially Kvitova, Pliskova, or Kasatkina, even Pegula winning would be a happy surprise.
There are gobs of the ATP I don’t like.
Tuning into the Tennis Channel, I’m watching Seb Korda. Congrats to him for winning his first-round match. I’m glad I did not change that pick!
Pliskova already out RC!..so she can’t win it!😀
I also don’t think she will win any grand slam in the future RC..same with Muguruza,Azarenka,Kvitova,Stephens..i think ship already sailed for them all..just like ATP,new generation who r younger & energetic took over the tour..
Like many in the ATP, players save up for the slams and big trophies. Sloane Stephens is one of them because she has done nothing all spring!
Kvitova won a big one this spring. I don’t feel she is part of the ones waiting for GS’s to come or 1000-point tournaments.
MA 🎯
Ostapenko match later today. It is the last WTA match of the day.
Mira, both Andreev sisters are likely playing tomorrow. Erika got in as a lucky loser.
Verified.
The first match of the day (middle of the night here), Mirra plays Alison Riske.
Luckt loser, Erika Andreev will face Emma Navarro. Emma Navarro is American, but I have never seen her tennis. Emma is ranked around #75, and both Andreev sisters are ranked in the 140s. Tennis Channel will probably show a bit of Erika vs. Emma, and I am more sure Mirra’s match will be televised because she is playing Alison Riske.
Ohh really RC?..i will try to watch them both!..if i’m lucky that is!..My hubby is sooo crazy watching netflix!..i can’t watch any tennis game b4 9pm today!..urgh!
I will go to bed early, MA. It will be before the sun goes down. I have to see those matches. It’s 4 am in your time zone. How do you do it?
Hope to see u later!
I don’t like power players of either gender so am cheering for Iga and Ons.
I love Sloane too, but as AM says, she aint gonna win!
Power players on the men’s side don’t tend to do so well, an opponent with a gr8 ROS seems to sort them out, or perhaps best of 5 does.
Bencic is possibly going to fall to this Armenian-Russian I have never seen. Avanesyan won the first set. They are in the decider, and Avanysian gets the break. Elina Avanysian is serving for the Match. Uh, boy, my bracket is creaking.
She is a lucky loser and she knocks out BB. 🙁
This is the 1st time i hear about this Avanesyan girl RC!…she came out of nowhere!..But Belinda also just came out from injury lay off isn’t she?
I’m not sure about an injury. BB took the second set 6-2. Perhaps BB came back to play too soon. It would make sense; she gave up the match when I expected she would win.
I noticed that Avanysan had a reasonably large cheering section, lots of men with too much hair on their faces. I will never understand how Benoit Paire keeps that big fuzzball, and it covers his handsome face.
BTW Avanysan is beautiful.
Yes, many new ATP and WTA seem to come out of nowhere! 😀
It is hard to keep up.
Alice Parks came out of nowhere, got beaten today, so going nowhere! For the time being.
Very true M!…same with Leylah,Emma,Bianca tho those 2 latter respectfully going nowhere bcoz of injuries..also Clara Tauson made a big waves at AO last year( if i’m not wrong?)..but today she won!
Of all the empty-headed commies, these two call Petra’s match. They keep saying she has not won anything this year; she better get going: She should win something…
Hello, Kvitova won Miami vs. Rybakina. That is something.
Most of the year is left to go. It’s Brett Haber and Lindsey Davenport chattering nonsense, and Bret is the worst, saying she needs a psychologist.
Ostapenko is on now, watching the score only.
Tauson is looking strong from what I saw of the match.
Sorry for dismissing Petra’s chances at Grand Slam in my earlier post RC!..i know she’s one of yor fav & u love her & i shouldn’t said that…and i really like her too!..I will be very2 happy if she win any major 1 @ 2 times more!..sorry k?
Mira,
Your post here was fine. I know what you mean, and I like how honest you are. Yes, I love Petra, Aga, and Simona the most. I love watching WTA tennis. Aga is retired and never won a GS. I still think of her deft touch and miss her. In tennis style, Iga is almost the opposite of Agnieszka. I latched onto Iga before she won anything. Maybe I gravitated to Iga because of a Polish connection. I have an 80s Polish pop star’s voice and lyrics in my head. I like to find Polish films on Netflix.
You are kind and sweet, Mira, and I couldn’t interpret anything in your post except lighthearted goodness!
I went off on the Tennis Channel commies claiming what Petra needs to do and all the advice they were spewing about such an accomplished athlete like Petra Kvitova. Lindsay Davenport may be jealous of her, and Brett Haber can get nauseating.
Oh, no. I cannot watch tennis all day tomorrow due to another MD appointment at 9 am. 😀
I will set the DVR to record the tennis.
Have a good day MA!
The score shows that Ostapenko came out strong and is taking it easy or saving herself for the third set. The second set is about to go to Martincova, and the score is 5-1. They were locked at deuce for a long time, and Ostapenko breaks Martincova; it is 5-2. Oh, I wish I was watching this one.
The second set is still underway, but Ostapenko got another game. At least if she loses the second set, she will send a message.
The only other WTA match still in progress is Waltert vs. Mandlik.
Finally! I am looking at Martincova. And, at least, they are showing the second set. Jelena caught up with her opponent and is trying to take this set and skip the decider. Stuck at deuce, Jelena means to break her! She has it! I love her; I even applaud her modest grunt. Ostpenko is serving for the set at 6-5. Woohoo!
Hahaha, cough… She did it. Kudos on fair play for correcting an out call that was in, and it was struck perfectly by Jelen=na-Oh.
Finally! I am looking at Martincova. And, at least, they are showing the second set. Jelena caught up with her opponent and tried to take this set and skip the decider. Stuck at deuce, Jelena means to break her! She has it! I love her; I even applaud her modest grunt. Ostpenko is serving for the set at 6-5. Woohoo!
Hahaha, cough… She did it. Kudos on fair play for correcting an out call that was in, and Jelena struck it perfectly.
Oh no. a double post😒
Sorry about Petra, she should do much better at Wimbledon.
As for commentators…..! I don’t like turning the volume down because I really like the sound of the matches, sometimes on Amazon you can just get that, without any innane comments.
Margot,
I wouldn’t say I like turning it down, either. What I do lately is put my headphones on and listen to something calming and pleasant to distract me from the annoyance, I can watch the match, but it’s better than hearing the commies. There are some commentators I don’t mind. But the combo of Lindsey Davenport and Brett Haber is maddening. I have Iga’s match on, and Lindsey again was dissing Iga. She should be pulled off of commenting on Iga and Kvitova; it has to be jealousy. She is rejoicing that Iga won’t be #1 for long. Okay, it is true, but Lindsey is a broken record. I had to look up her time at #1; she has 98 weeks. It might make her nervous if Iga wins RG. I am done speaking of it now. I have held back the choice words I have for LD. I like Chandra Rubin. She is a class above Davenport.
I watched the first set, and Iga and Busca played nervous tennis. It’s not like watching Iga last year. Being #1 must be wearing on her, but she tries to hide it.
Good to see Ons won! Sad to see that Krecikova lost so early.
Terrible news about Meddy being ousted by TS Wild. I Have seen the name, but that’s it.
Then the recording ran out of room to watch the second set of Iga’s match, but the score indicates that maybe she relaxed. The stats for the 2nd set are much better for Iga but not so good for Busca. I’ll look into it.
What a day…
I’ll see what I can find on Amazon. Thanks for the tip.
Come on Iga!
Commies are a joke! “Never known it so windy in Paris”. Seriously?!
These people are comedians. I remember Rafa and Fed then NOvak and Domi playing their semis in a gale which blew the chairs over..
Come on Bianca! Great play!
Yay, Bianca won!!
I watched Iga’s match from today and a bunch of matches from spring 2022, and she is markedly less fluid and confident than she was last year during her Sunshine double and clay court run.
At Miami 2022 vs. Powerful Osak (I am missing Osaka)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJCmFvzEwYE
Even against Osaka, she is not playing nervous tennis as she did today. And, her first serve, though not an ace-maker, was solid. The change tells me she needs time off and away from tennis. Let her body recuperate before she injures something! Today, she hit too many forehands into the net, and the serving has become tentative. Of course, she will keep playing. I hate to watch her play pressured, nervous tennis. I don’t remember being tense watching her before this year. That was the joy of her tennis – free swing and movement without hesitation. And, her first serve was struck confidently.
I don’t care how many weeks she remains at #1. I suppose it is an issue, though.
And defending the RG title. No pressure at all, right?
What a great win for Bianca! Really high quality match. Best tennis I have seen so far.
That was a match played by former grand slam champions.
Amy, I am worried about Iga. Can you tell?
I am over it. I saw what I needed to know for me to lower my expectations.
There are so many matches I missed, and I need rest.
Happy for Bianca 😀
Anhelina Kalinina lost. I can’t imagine what she is going through. 🙏
The Frenchies are giving their man, Monfils—love, like they did Lucas Pouille.
I hope we sing the French anthem at the end.
I don’t know that you need to be that worried Elizabeth. From the perspective of a Rafa fan we are used to seeing him struggle with nerves sometimes in early rounds then go on and win playing amazing.
Think we need to wait and see. It’s true she didn’t play well in first set but don’t think that means much tbh.
Elina won!😀
But Jelena is out. Very disappointing…
I am simply pulling this Ricky-made WTA post along. It feels good to have one place to post current RG WTA matches.
Amy, I know I was upset at Lindsey Davenport, and she is anti-Iga. And seemingly helping? Petra Kvitova? Anyway, she is pro-anything that will knock Iga off the top. And I notice other tennis websites that have already made Aryna Saba #1. Some on Tennis Channel have already referred to Sabs as #1 for over a month; at the same time, Saba indeed leads the WTA race to the WTA final since winning the AO, and Saba will likely be officially #1 after Iga loses her bid to defend RG points, many commies are too $%*&dy eager!
I do sound like a fangirl of Iga, and I am. I will calm down but never enjoy Sabs as #1. 🙁
😀
Now that Ostapenko went out lamely to her opponent yesterday and seeing Iga play truly worse by a level to last year, I will put a pause on expressing my disappointment. After all, never has winning GS tourneys, and being #1, meant a player is a personal favorite. 😀
I’m happy you enjoy the WTA, amy. I’m aware when I go ott.
I don’t think you are being over the top Elizabeth!
I go on and on forever about Rafa! It’s normal.
I don’t much like Davenport and I certainly don’t like her dissing Petra and Iga.
Things are not going fabulously with Barbora and Jelena out…Bianca is in Iga’s section of the draw isn’t she? Bianca could be dangerous. She was really good against Azarenka.
There is cause for celebration. I see Dasha Kasatkina is still in the running; she beat Vondrousova today!
It seems I have very little interest in ATP winners now. I haven’t looked at the bracket challenge in days. Too many of my picks went south. My fault for picking Medvedev deep, but he played well on clay recently. Not sure how he will fare on grass. But, looking forward to the green grass!
I saw Dasha win. She played high quality tennis. It was a good match between 2 players who both have enormous variety and don’t rely on power so it was very refreshing! I don’t enjoy watching a lot of the ATP with players just slugging the ball without finesse.
If Shaps wins he will play Alcaraz next. That could be interesting because Shaps generally plays rubbish until he plays a top player and then he can play fantastic. I want to see him do that against Alcaraz. Be interesting..!
Hello, Amy!
I thought you would come down hard on me for being so negative. Yes, I’ve read many dismal posts by Rafa fans, but I like that it’s been settled he will be back. He is doing the right thing by allowing himself to get strong and confident again.
Barbora Krejcikova must have some injury that is nagging her. And I suspect Iga might too. If it’s mainly the pressure/mental, I hope she takes time with her team and figures it out. I like seeing her play free and easy! It can not be fun to be a target for so long. Thanks for your kind words, amy. I really appreciate it.
The good news is my diet is working, and I am not yet diabetic, thank god. The challenge is not gaining any weight back while my foot heals. And the lovely Pavyluchenkova won another match. Come on, Anastasia! I guess I’ll have a look at the brackets.
About watching tennis on Amazon, I found out this:
“Except for the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and the Wimbledon Championships, Amazon Prime offers access to every tennis match on the WTA and most ATP tours.”
1) First, I must upgrade to Amazon Prime $$
2)For AO, FO, and Wimby, I’d have to order those per my Direct TV subscription, which is killing me already. $$$
I could get a tennis channel plus subscription, but that would cost too much through Direct TV.
The tennis live streams I was able to access for free were taken down by 2012. They were mainly betting sites, and the chat groups were colorful, to say the least, but free is a very good price. The chat rooms were lively – an array of non-English speakers and English speakers from the UK, Canada, Australia, and English speakers worldwide. It was fun/entertaining, but the American iron curtain snapped shut. Gone in a flurry. I was posting on TX in those days, but I did not use my nickname Contador, my name on TX.
I’ll take it up to my neighbor and see how he does it.
Sorry Elizabeth can’t reply right now. See my post below about Sabalenka. Absolutely furious atm.
Iga’s draw. Yes, I looked at it just now. She has a Chinese player that I am not familiar with next. Mira Andi or Margot might know more about how dangerous Xinyu Wang is. So far, of the Chinese WTA players, Qinwen Zheng is a threat to anyone. She is tall and serves well. I always look for her when I scour the WTA draw. Putintseva knocked her out.
But in that bottom quarter is Sloane Stephens, who has decided to give this RG her best. If she is at her best, she could be dangerous to Sabs, and Biancs Andrescu could be dangerous to Iga. But first, I need to learn more about Iga’s next test Xinyu Wang!
https://live-tennis.eu/en/wta-singles-draws
This link to the current WTA draw is where I go at this point in any tournament.
Bianca Andreescu – I really like her tennis, personality, and I’d not feel bad if Iga would go out to her. Bianca’s problem is chronic injuries right now. Bianca is another one who could beat anyone if playing her best tennis.
Yes, Elina Svitolina won again. Happiness!
Oh, no. Gael plays tomorrow against Holger Rune.
I’m picking Rybakina….calm, cool, confident, and she knows she can win the big ones!
Good God! I just read that when Lukashenko was murdering and torturing protesters after he stole an election where a huge majority voted against him Sabalenka signed a letter in support of him and celebrated New year with him!
She is completely despicable.
I have nothing but utter contempt for her and she shouldn’t be allowed to play. She is a disgrace to tennis.
For people who don’t remember, Lukaschenko ‘s thugs raped and tortured and murdered innocent protesters. There were massive demonstrations against his utterly corrupt despotic Putin funded rule. Putin helped him destroy the protesters. That’s what Putin loves, helping autocrats kill anyone who criticises them. He is helping the Iran regime crush the huge protests there.
Under wimby rules she should be banned. She is a disgrace.
Wow, I did not know all that. All I knew was that I was annoyed with on-court heavy grunting, and she liked to have her pictures glam up and give that sex kitten vibe that draws attention, a crowd, therefore, fabulous for ticket sales. Then there were hints of a mean girl who likes gossip and forming a clique around her.
Wimby probably does know about her Lukashenko connection. Aryna herself would say she has a right and find a lawyer to take her case.
She is a little political opportunist that kisses up to Lukashenko and Putin.
She has some snobby ambitions, as well. And the entire tennis community is charmed and feeling love for her. If all that is true, some serious Karma will come at some point, and she will have to face that she was helping vicious men. It’s likely; she is not thinking of what consequences bad girl behavior brings. She is on a wave of success and doesn’t give a fig.
In her case, I would support Wimby banning her. It would set a precedent in this horrific time of war.
Hope this post gets to you, amy.
I used to like her but reading all this…
It needs to be verified as I only read it from one source, but the source was respectable.
If true, it’s shocking beyond belief. I am literally incredulous…
One thing I will say is that the line she keeps coming up with that no Russian or Belarusian players support the war is a ludicrous, farcical, mega lie. Very many Russian athletes are not only affiliated with the military but active members of it. They post their support of the war and Putin constantly on social media. Sabalenka recently trained in Russia. The idea that she doesn’t know this is completely absurd.
Support for Ukraine is mixed in America. But the Senate has given rare bilateral consent. In the House of Representatives, you find some opinions pushing to stop spending money on Ukraine. Putin sympathizers are not the majority, but they exist across some states like the one where I live. It’s best to keep my mouth shut. If I were on Twitter, as I was before ding dong Elon Musk took over Twitter, it would be a good place to find like minds from all over the globe and form a group.
Elizabeth, what is going on with Iga? She was apparently up 3-0 in the first set then lost 3 games and made a very large number of ues. She seems to be really feeling the pressure. I have seen this in the early rounds with Rafa but it’s still cause for concern. I shouldn’t keep using the example of Rafa to say things are ok. They’re not the same player and it is worrying.
I had to do a couple of early morning errands. I missed Iga’s match, but I have the recording. I got home right at the time Sinner lost his match 🙁
Sinner is a class act; I have come to appreciate him.
I was checking the score when out and about. It appears Iga feels the pressure and struggles in the first set but finds her game in time for the second set, or her opponent gives up quickly. It’s far from ideal, as she played in
2020-2022. Also, she isn’t the new kid on the block, and players are motivated to improve themselves to beat her. She the standard to beat. Good for tennis but not for me. My inclination is to protect her. 😀
PS. amy,
Payton Stearns is new to WTA, but she played University tennis, I think in Texas. Texas rich girl. Reminds me of Coco Vandeweghe. It is Peyton’s first year playing at this level, and she is new to everyone. Once everyone is familiar with her tennis, hopefully, she will fade. Dear me, Peyton will play Dasha Kasatkina next. I hope Dasha can give her the boot!
Dasha is right up there with Iga 😉.
amy,
Xinyu Wang or Wang Xinyu? I can’t remember what name comes first. She is 21, attractive, and 6′ tall. I believe she will push Iga, and she looks forward to playing Iga! I will be watching that match. 😯
It’s a dangerous match.
The odds are heavily in favor of Swiatek. It makes me feel silly to see my above post. But you never can be sure in tennis.
Kasatkina start off on a roll and took the first set vs. Stearns 6-0!
😀
Keep it going, Dasha!
It is so much fun watching Dasha confound her opponent. But Stearns was overwhelmed by Dasha’s variety. I think this is another stunning performance by Dasha, and this is her preferred surface.
Kasatkina is putting on a clinic today.
Congrats Dasha. Nicely done!
Gosh you’re up early Elizabeth!
I couldn’t watch Dasha but very happy she won!😀
Hi Amy,
I wake up early these days, around 3-4 am. But I went back to sleep after Dasha’s match. My neighbor asked me to brunch tomorrow – I couldn’t get out of it. This means I will wonder about Iga’s match and check all the scores on my phone. The top half is playing for places in the Round of 16! I can’t believe I will spend the day with my neighbor!
😉
Matches I will miss tomorrow/Saturday:
Rybakina vs. Sorribes Tormo
Alexandrova vs. Haddad Maia
Gauff vs. Mirra Andreev (new girl)
Andreescu vs. Tsurenko
Cocciaretto vs. Pera
Schmieldlova vs. Day
Swiatek vs. Wang Xin
Jabeur vs. Danilovic
Happy to see that Pavlyuchenkova beat Potapo and Svitolina beat Blinkova. Pavs will play Mertens next.
Dasha vs. Elina Svitolina-Monfils next.
Stephens beat Putintseva; pleasant surprise! But Stephens will play Sabalenka next, and I am unsure Stephens can make a dent in Saba. The winners from today/Friday will play Sunday to see who goes to the QFs. Sunday is for watching tennis 🥞🍒🥛
The Sunday match I am most interested to see is:
Karolina Muchova vs. Elina Avanesyan (another new girl). And the match starts at 3 am in my time zone!
Elena is out with illness. Apparently she has a high fever. That’s a huge loss to the tournament as she was playing so well and could have won. Also she is one of my faves. Hoping Ons goes through to the semis from that side of the draw. 😪😪
Ons won but was actually a very tough match and her serve was quite a liability for much of it. Hope she gets to the semis.
It’s annoying Dasha is playing Elina as I want both to progress.
You missed a delicious loss by the Cart Horse against Cerundulo which cheered me up no end. The Cart Horse was very predictable with a rubbish ROS while Francisco showed a lot of finesse…
I like Muchova so hope she wins..She has a lot of skillz..
I was following the scores and was delighted to see her. She pushed through FTW, and she’s tough. Tough call, Elina or Dasha.
Cart Horse, your nickname for him, makes me laugh. The gossiping Bret Haber reports Cart Horse dumping his wife for the botox internet girlfriend was in the French news, and they gave him the proper Parisian treatment while on the court. 😀
I need to find the video of that match.
Yay, Cernedolo won!
Rybakina – that doesn’t sound good. I hope she recovers and can compete on the grass court season. Elina Rybakina has a kind and generous heart. Impossible not to like her, and she is suitable for WTA Tennis #1. Nauseating, Saba says Elina is her “bestie.”
🤮.
Ons 👍
Muchova 👍
Both have Skillz.
Blinkova 👎 Potopo 👎
Iga bageled Xinu Wang. As a rule, I don’t like to see someone get bageled, but I need to see Iga playing confidently. Watching Coco Gauff now and hoping the VCR caught Iga’s match. OMG, Lesia Tsurenko handed Bianca Andreesu two breadsticks! And Lesia will play Iga next. The odds are otherworldly in favor of Iga. We shall see. Lesia may be playing inspired tennis.
Come on Elina! Don’t like Blinkova..
Elina won!😀
French crowd really behind her but boos over non handshake. Makes me wonder who is booing given crowd supports her?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with someone from Ukraine not wanting to shake the hand of someone Russian! Really extraordinary anyone could object unless they are Russian/ Putin supporter.
Meanwhile Sabalenka has said she won’t do an open press conference as she doesn’t ‘feel safe’ when asked about her support for Lukaschenko. Please God will someone beat her.
I seem to remember when Naomi didn’t want to do press the slams ganged up on her despite Naomi having a history of depression.
Meanwhile Sabalenka gets to do what she wants?! Pathetic.
I agree with you, amy.
About the injustice to Naomi. And about what you write:
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with someone from Ukraine not wanting to shake the hand of someone Russian! Really extraordinary anyone could object unless they are Russian/ Putin supporter.”
I run into Putin supporters here. Not that I can put Putin’s war and the crisis in Ukraine and elsewhere around the globe out of my mind, but this tennis hobby helps. A man at the pharmacy mentioned how angry he was at America spending money to support Ukraine. He justifies his resentment by saying that Crimea always belonged to Russia. I said nothing – there was a long line of people getting medications filled. He was a young man, and I asked if he was Russian, and he said no and turned away from me.
It was not the time or place.
Just hope the West will spend as much money rebuilding Ukraine, as we are on supplying weapons. But not holding my breath.
Hello Margot, I hope you are well.
I wrote a response, but I’m posting it to the non-tennis forum.
Pavlyuchenkovw vs. Mertens
Pav is running on empty—second set TB. I’ll be surprised if Pavs has enough to win the TB and take this to 3.
I don’t remember picking these two this far.
She made it…Yes! Pavlyu is playing much better than I expected so soon after Knee surgery. She’s fought for that TB. Elise looks a bit fresher.
Pavs got to RG final and is good on clay. Hope she wins. She always looks tired so hard to tell!
amy,
Pavs made it. She is in the QFs!
Her Ranking: she was hard to find; she is ranked #333.
Congrats Pavlyuchenkova!
I read somewhere that she is living in Dubai.
It’s true. She has appeared tired for a long time.
That’s great Elizabeth! I caught the end.
So bummed Dasha and Elina are playing each other. Don’t know who to support and may not watch as it will be horrible to see one of them lose…
PS the Cart Horse was very loudly booed when he came on court!!😀
hahaha I know, I found the match on my DVR. It’s perfect and what he deserves!
Mirra Andreeva and Sabs are making a stink about not getting their Visa yet for grass opportunities in the UK.
Elina Svitolina would usually beat Kasatkina. Odds favor Kasatkina but not by much.
I will watch their match If I can stay awake. It was a big day for me yesterday. 😀
Just having a quick peek. Gael is so adorably proud of Elina..they are a lovely couple..
Bravo Elina!!
Feel sad for Dasha though..I really wish they hadn’t played each other…
Gael is so adorable..😀
Am amazed how well Elina is playing having been out so long..
So disappointing that Sloane suddenly made errors at the end of that set. She could have won it!
Am guessing it’s over now..
Here is the page Elizabeth!
Thanks. I should have saved the link.
Congratulations to Ons Jabeur and Haddad Maia!
https://live-tennis.eu/en/wta-singles-draws
Here is the RG WTA QF line-up!
Lesia Tsurenko and Iga are set to play next.
Wow. Not in a good way because coverage of Iga ‘s match has just ended!😠
I hate Eurosport…
I just saw on live scores the Iga match is over evidently because Tsurenko couldn’t continue..big pity. Not that I could watch it even if it was on…
#$%^!
That’s not good for Iga.
And I hope Lesia is okay.
I hope you are enjoying your evening, amy. 😀
Wish I was Elizabeth! How is your foot?
Yes it’s a pity Iga didn’t play but she would probably have won very fast anyway
Would be a ginormous shock if she lost to Gauff..
Gauff can beat Iga. It’s a matter of Gauff executing her best tennis when facing Iga. I don’t want to talk about Iga, and I was hoping to see her get another match without her playing nervous tennis.
My foot is slow to heal. But thanks for thinking of it. The heel is fine, but the bottom of my foot… never mind. I will say, I am tired of wearing the boot!! Thanks.
Am glad Muchova won although I like Pavs. Is it too much to hope she beats You Know Who? Probably but am still hoping.
Apparently the allegations against Sabalenka are true. She did sign the letter supporting Lukashenko when he was murdering her compatriots. Among other things.
I used to quite like her but now I can’t bear even looking at her.
I was watching WTA to get away from the absence of Rafa and also because I like a lot of the female players.Now that’s ruined because of her.
PS suddenly she is saying she is different. Very convenient just before wimby. I don’t believe a word she says.She is deeply manipulative and cynical.
In what way has she changed? When she beat Elina Svitolina, the toxic one went to the net and leaned to look straight at Elina. Maybe she thought something could change by doing that. Elina went straight to the chair to shake the umpire’s hand and then to her bench. Not even a look at her.
I hoped Sabs would focus on doubles with Timea Babos.
I never liked watching her because of her grunting, but she was sometimes pretty comical. She makes funny faces, groans, and eye-rolling.
Supporting Lukashenko is supporting Putin and Putin’s war. I would prefer not to see her at Wimbledon or any GS, not the Olympics. I see her, and I think about the horrific losses in Ukraine.
Well I was extremely angry about her rotten manipulative behaviour. She made Elina into a target for the cynical pathetic Paris crowd.
It’s sickening to compare this with lovely Dasha who made straight for the side of the court so as not to expose Elina and the crowd booed Dasha! I know Dasha was very upset afterwards as was Elina and Elina said Saba did it deliberately. Of course she did!
Her behaviour makes me furious. She is a spoilt selfish good time girl.
Wimby is the opposite of RG. The crowd is very polite. Also GB is the country outside Eastern Europe with the highest public support for Ukraine. I am kind of hoping the crowd turns on Saba.
If I were to go I would boo her and shout insults believe me. Unfortunately not many people follow politics as I do so they don’t know about her supporting Lukashenko.
Have been thinking about trying to do something. Not sure what.
Many people in this part of the country think we don’t have any business aiding Ukraine. I strongly disagree!
I don’t know what I could do. I have the skills to care for the sick and wounded. But I don’t know a word of their language. I don’t have the money to get myself there. but I do have a little money to donate. My neighbor is my only family and needs to stay here because Idaho has the best, if not the best, one of the best Veterans Administration hospitals in the country. He is a Veteran with PTSD. Strange as it is, I cannot leave him.
One of the reasons there is so much support here for arming Ukraine is because that is the position of all the political parties: Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberals and the Scottish National Party all strongly support giving arms.
As for your country, you are giving less than 1% of the military budget. It’s peanuts really.
And since you know more about this country than I do in some ways (I don’t doubt you) are we closing the sky? Both parties agreed: we can’t do that. It would mean starting WW3. I know we spend a ton of money and weapons on Ukraine. There is Bipartisan support for helping Ukraine in Washington, D.C. How much more do you think this place America should be spending?
Of course, Donald Trump has announced he is running for President in 2024. The grifter has to be taken seriously. Putin still has to have a lot of blackmail fodder on his loyal Republicans. Trump will do whatever Vlad says.
We have a bigger problem on the non-tennis forum and his name is Wog Boy. He is a Pro-Putin and loyal USSR kind of guy. I will not speak to him.
Elizabeth, I have problems expressing myself because I am not very well! Did try and say that before. Have extreme fatigue and feel dizzy.
Not sure I should talk about serious subjects right now…I am not conveying my meaning because I am really honestly consumed by brain fog..😀
PS no we can’t close the sky! Would be utter madness. I will say that. But we could and should have given them the advanced air defence systems they need right from the beginning. If we had, thousands of lives would have been saved.
I am sorry. If we were face to face, I don’t doubt we would get along well and have much in common. I care about you, Amy. Take care of yourself. It is very late where you are. 😙
Elizabeth, here is the page. Put Rybakina into your browser and the page will appear…
Why on earth did Ons lost to Haddad Mia?? She is a far better player. Nerves??
Ons was playing great all week and today, It was almost like she didn’t care. I was begging her to win!
Rybakina and Ons… maybe Krejcikova if Barboa can find her best level. Maybe Kvitova can somehow get another Wimby.
Thanks again, amy.
🤭🤭You must have seen that I went to the WTA page.
Iga is a strange mixture of playing good and making nervous errors.
Is that what She is doing again? I am not watching because I thought she would play that way again.
Ons played strangely, She was doing great to start, but she eventually lost. But she seemed too relaxed about it. Maybe Gauff comes through and gets a win over nervous Iga,
Iga won! But not impressive.
On another note, Evert was ridiculous as a commentator. Said all the other players would be ” quaking in their boots” if they had to play Gauff!!!! Y would that be given her record this year and not winning a set at the wtf and her lousy fh?! So biased because she is American.
I like Evert. She is mellow compared to the usual commies, Davenport, especially.
Martina Navratilova is dear to me.
She was not always like that. It has to be too much, this defense of her titles and retaining #1.
I am certain as I can be she will get to the final. Once there, it may very well be like the USO when she was nervous in the preceding rounds but deadly in the final. Think there is a good chance that happens again.
Do you give Muchova any chance?
I like her and her game and I remember her playing Rybakina very close in either IW or Miami I think it was. If she can play Elena close when she was on fire then surely she has a chance?
There is not a Czech WTA player I have not liked. Muchova is 26 and has had bad luck with injuries. It’s good to see her playing at this level. But I have never had any feeling about her winning a GS — probably because of her injuries. She looks healthy now, I think.
I remember getting excited about her years ago, but even though she is doing well, 19/7 W/L in 2023, so far. It’s unrealistic to think she will get as much as a set. I hope I am wrong.
The toxic one is going tough to beat. It will make a difference in how much energy I put into WTA when she is #1 🤮
BTW, Ons said post match that because of her injury she hadn’t been able to train to get to the right physical level. So that is probably why she lost. Hopefully she will be good for wimby.
She is a great fave with the wimby crowd.
Needless to say she was immensely generous and classy in defeat.
Hope she wins a,slam this year. She has the talent.
Well done Iga! Hopefully the nervous points will go now..
I missed the last few games! Came back and found Iga won quickly.
From the parts of the match I saw I thought she was very ordinary by her standards. That’s good enough to fairly easily beat Gauff but she needs to step it up.
I was counting on Ons Jabeur to come through and beat Iga. I thought Ons could go to the Final with her skillz and win this thing over Sabs.
Oh, you meant she did beat Gauff. How many times will she get to beat Gauff before the young lady finally wins over Iga? She has everything to do it.
I have to rewind and watch the match to see what you did.
You know who will be officially #1 if Sabs wins in the final. Officially Sabalenka is not #1, but commies have been saying she is since she won AO. The Sabs makes me sick.
I have not been watching this SF because I can’t stand the toxic one.
But I had a peek at the score and saw Muchova won the first set, TB! Terrific, from Karolina Muchova!
They are in the second set, and Karolina has been keeping up. She does have an off-speed slice backhand and forehand. It’s got Sabs disturbed. Sabs can’t own this opponent. Karolina is serving, and she looks relaxed. She hits an ace up the middle. Beautiful serving from Karolina, and they are on serve in the second set.
#$%^! Sabs breaks Muchova. Sabs is making a fuss with her grunts. Muchova is unimpressed and breaks back 4-4.
Lindsey Davenport is loving Muchova’s skills. Maybe I can like Davenport a little. Muchova holds serve, again easily, and the score is 5-4 Karolina Muchobva. Muchova is a breath of fresh air with her variety. Dang it, Sabs holds serve, and it’s 5-5.
The French crowd is applauding Karolina Muchova ;D Muchova has 25 winners, Lindsey reports. Nuchova holds at 6-5.
Sabs holds—second set TB.
I can’t take Sab’s weird, loud whiney grunts. That is enough of her. 🤮
I did think Muchova might do well. I remember watching her match against Rybakina at IW and she played really well and really gave Elena a lot of problems. Elena was playing very well then and won the tournament.
I wasn’t going to watch this match because I can’t stand watching Saba. But saw score and had a look and had misfortune to watch tb. Guess she is going to win now.
Had to mute Simon whatshisname and Chrissie. Chrissie went on and on about Saba and the press conference seeking to make Saba into an innocent victim and wonderful person while completely omitting the fact that she has numerous documented links to Lukashenko and that is why there are questions. No one else among the major Russian and Belarusian players is getting these questions. There is a reason fur that.
Nauseating listening. She might as well have been Saba ‘s PR spokeswoman.
That is disappointing from Chris Evert. I wouldn’t like to hear BS like that from her. I would mute her!
I am so happy right now, and it’s all for Karolina Muchova. Haddad Maia, I think, has a good shot at Iga. Iga is killing me this entire spring. I’m a big fan, but I want her to move forward playing confident tennis. The pressure is too great for her to hold onto #1 for over a year and be pressured to defend her incredible 2022 wins.
About this match, I have become accustomed to Iga losing or nearly losing the first set. Woz is commenting, and she leans a bit pro-Iga.
How are you feeling, Amy?
Karolina!!!!😀
Wow. Just wow.! What a great day!
So if Iga wins today she stays #1. Come on Iga!
Lot of similarities between Barbora and Karolina with their variety and skillz.
I am still very disappointed that Barbora who is one of my top faves played so badly. But very happy for Karolina. Wonder what she has left for the final…
Hope Barbora regains form soon.
I have had great hopes for Muchova in years past. It’s tough to know how much she has been weakened by a list of injuries I don’t remember. It became a Where’s Muchova Again thing. Vonrousova is a bit the same.
It’s true that if a favorite Czech is missing from a draw, another one can fill the spot. Hopefully, Barbora and Petra have an excellent grass season next! I’m ready for grass.
That is the pressure. I think Iga has to win this SF. Dang it. Beatriz is a big woman! 6’1
Actually, I don’t want Iga to lose! What was I saying? Both of them must be aware that sabs is out.
Where are you Elizabeth!!? This is a fantastic result…
I’m here, amy!
I wouldn’t say I liked watching when it looked like the Belorussian was winning. I made some toast had my coffee, and checked Flashscore. Karolina did it! I love her for fighting. We shall see how Iga plays Haddad Maia, but Karolina would make a great Champion at Roland Garros! 😀
Congratulations, Karolina Muchova! 🤩
Time to attend to my broken foot, amy.
Iga wins!! But my God she was doing my head in in the second set. Her fh deserted her for long periods of time. Struggled with her serve.
Still she won!😀
Anyway Elizabeth we can celebrate now! Iga won and Saba is out and we have a player we both like Karolina in the final.
Could be a great match if Karolina brings her skillz. Hope so.
That is true. We both like Karolina Muchova 😀
I will celebrate with you if Karolina wins FO. How happy
it would be for Karolina Muchova to win the GS title in Paris!
At the last minute, I realized that I wanted Iga to win her match against Haddad Maia. This was because if she didn’t make it to the final, she would lose her #1 ranking to Sadz.
Iga will retain her #1 ranking whether she wins or loses the final now. It is not that Iga needs another FO. Keeping #1 out of reach of Sabz is the point. I know she will get it sooner or later or maybe Rybakina or Ons could get it before her. 😀
Karolina has just put out a post saying her clay court idol is the same one as she adored back in 2008 and that is, of course, Rafa!!!!😀😀
So 2 Rafa fanatics will play in the final! That is some balm to we miserable Rafans!!
That’s great, Amy—two Rafa fans on Rafa’s court.
I watched the last set of Muchova/sadz to see how Karolina did it. Sabz contributed to Karolina’s win. In the end, Sabz was her old self, the one before AO. Karolina hung in there and was terrific. So proud of her! Karolina will have sore muscles in her legs. I didn’t realize she was hurting from the effort. The best of 3 in a GS can be hard and challenging. The best of 5 is what I think women can do if they train for it, but I don’t think the powers that be will ever allow that format for WTA GS.
Iga will be ready physically and in every way because she routinely makes it to the QF, SF, and Final of these big 1000 and GS tournaments. And she trains like her idol, Rafa! Iga’s head was full of Sabz all these weeks, and what a relief to have a different opponent!
I love Iga’s footwork on clay; it’s incredible. She is speedy and anticipates so well! Jazda Iga! 😀
This SF with Haddad Maia was not fun to watch live, but the replay is excellent, listening to Martina Navratilova and Wozzie commentating. The one thing Martina emphasized is the need for Iga to work on her serve.
What is it with Iga catching the ball repeatedly on her ball toss? It wasn’t windy. It was making me very nervous.
Generally I thought she played better on return because she seemed unhappy on serve and was missing a lot of first serves. Karolina served much better and got a lot more free points. Her serve doesn’t seem to be as effective as last year.
“some balm to we miserable Rafans!!”
Heh heh…sooo true amy!..urgh!..i want both of them to win!..i don’t want/like iga to lose..but at the same time want 1st timer Muchova to win too!..help!..cane ni??
I feel the same mira! I want Iga to win but I also want Karolina to win! Iga will win loads more slams while Karolina may never win another.
Tough choice…
Still either way we can cheer the winner..so that is a massive plus.
Rafa has to rest for 5 months after his op. We will be thinking of him and dreaming of RG#15
Just catching up with all this after a busy week.
I really think Djokovic will use his experience and sheer mental strength to get the win. Him for the title .And Muchova to upset Iga would be interesting.
Well played Muchova, held her nerve, Sabs lost hers.
Should be a great final.
Hoping for a great match today…
By which I hope Muchova brings it today. I think she will.
It’s her first slam final so one never knows…
I can’t load this thread beyond this point.
Can anyone else load it?