Aryna Sabalenka battled into her third straight US Open final.
Archive of posts tagged Jessica Pegula
Emma Raducanu admits she is not targeting Slams e WTA 1000 titles at the moment
Emma Raducanu says she is keeping her goals realistic at the moment and isn't expecting to win Grand Slam and WTA 1000 tournaments, but highlights that will change as soon as she gets to her desired level.
Prior to coming to Cincinnati, the world No. 33 made a splash move and hired Rafael Nadal's former long-time coach Francisco Roig. When addressing the collaboration for the first time, the 22-year-old noted that she hired Roig because she thought he could help her improve her shots and get to the level where she could legitimately challenge the very best in the game.
Since winning her first and lone title at the 2021 US Open, Raducanu hasn't made any finals. Also, she hasn't been ranked inside the top-10 since early 2022.
“I know there will be a time where I'll be targeting big tournaments, Masters and Slams, but to be honest, right now, that's not my goal. My goal is to improve as a player," the 22-year-old said in Cincinnati.
Raducanu's honest expectation for the upcoming Aryna Sabalenka match in Cincinnati
For a place in the Cincinnati round-of-16, Raducanu will battle against three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka. For the 22-year-old Briton, it will be a chance to register her first-ever win against a world No. 1. However, in their previous two meetings – of which the last came at Wimbledon – the Belarusian handled the business in straight sets.
Heading into their third meeting, the British tennis player suggests the Cincinnati surface favors more the top seed.
“I'm reasonable enough, and I guess honest enough with myself, to know that different surfaces favor different people, and where my game is at in comparison. So, I think the grass gave me a bit of an advantage (against Sabalenka), but we'll see how it goes," Raducanu explained.
A bit interestingly, Raducanu is only now making her second Cincinnati appearance. In her first and lone appearance at the American WTA 1000 tournament in 2022, she reached the last-16 before losing to Jessica Pegula.
Coco Gauff teases American men over lack of Grand Slams: No competition
Coco Gauff jokes there "has not been much of a competition" between American men and women at Grand Slams simply because the women have had much more success over the last two decades.
As you probably know, the last US male tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles title was Andy Roddick. After winning his maiden Major at the 2003 US Open, the former world No. 1 appeared in four more Major finals but never won his second title on the biggest level.
After Roddick's 2009 Wimbledon final defeat to Roger Federer, it took US tennis 15 years to get another male Grand Slam finalist – Taylor Fritz reached the 2024 US Open final but stood no chance there, losing in straight sets to Jannik Sinner.
When it comes to American WTA stars, their Slam success over the past two decades is well-documented. In the most recent history, Gauff landed two Grand Slams in the last two years.
Gauff takes a playful shot at US ATP players
"For the men, I feel like the women, it hasn't been much of a competition, no offense to them, but now it is kind of was it three or four straight Slams with American in the finals. So I think we're we're doing pretty good on our end. They have to catch up. But no, I think it's great to see so many so much representation of like our country in the sport," the 2023 US Open winner said.
After making it clear that she thinks American male tennis features some pretty quality players, Gauff revealed her big wish was to witness an American male and female winning the same Grand Slam. Last year, Fritz and Jessica Pegula came close to making that happen, but lost their respective US Open final matches.
"I would love to see in my lifetime like a woman and an American woman and male when the same Slam that would be that would be great. We got it US Open. They were both in the final so hopefully maybe this U.S. Open some magic can happen," Gauff added.
In early June, Gauff won her first French Open title. Now, the 21-year-old is an Australian Open and Wimbledon title away from completing a Career Grand Slam.
Emma Raducanu makes it crystal clear what she wants from Rafael Nadal's ex-coach
Emma Raducanu sounds ecstatic over adding Francisco Roig to her team and highlights the main thing she wants from Rafael Nadal's former coach is to help her improve her game to the level where she can legitimately challenge the very best in the game.
Ahead of Cincinnati, the 2021 US Open champion made a major announcement, revealing that Nadal's former coach of 17 years agreed to work with her.
So far this year, there hasn't been much stability in Raducanu's coaching staff. After Nick Cavaday left the team in late January, the 22-year-old was assisted by some LTA coaches, before having an unsuccessful two-week stint with Vladimir Platenik in March. Ultimately, the British tennis player hired Mark Petchey – but since he has his own commentary commitments – he wasn't a full-time presence in the box until the grass season.
But now, Raducanu's tumultuous 2025 coaching situation may have come to an end with the Roig appointment.
Raducanu: Roig has got a bank of experience… I want the quality of my shots to be better
“It’s going really well, it’s my second day here with him here, but I did a few days in London before I came out here. He’s obviously got a bank of experience and I’m very excited to continue working with him and to have him on my side," the Briton said.
So far in her career, Raducanu has collected three wins against top-10 players. This year, the 22-year-old played against Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Zheng Qinwen, and lost all of those meetings. Her lone top-10 win of the year came against Emma Navarro in Miami. And that's one aspect that she wants to fix.
“I’m working on the quality of my shots to be better. I think against the very top that’s what it needs, it needs to improve. So I’m hoping that with time – I’m pretty patient, I’m going to try and be pretty patient – that it’ll improve," Raducanu underlined.
In the Cincinnati first round, Raducanu will play against a qualifier.
Coco Gauff drops hilarious line after winning Montreal doubles title
Coco Gauff captured her first doubles title in over a year and then hilariously remarked that her "temporary return" to doubles was instant success.
After disappointingly seeing her Montreal singles campaign end in the round-of-16, the American stayed in Canada because she still had doubles going on with fellow American McCartney Kessler. In their first appearance as a pair, the American duo won a total of five matches and impressively beat No. 3 seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai 6-4 1-6 13-11 in the final.
For Gauff, this was her third doubles tournament of the year. Previously, the American teamed up with Robin Montgomery in Madrid and with Alexandra Eala in Rome, respectively. The 21-year-old now has 10 doubles titles in her collection.
"Lol temporarily came out of doubles retirement and got a dub!" the top-ranked American female tennis player wrote on her Instagram Story.
Coco Gauff Instagram Story© Coco Gauff/Instagram – Fair Use
Gauff enjoyed big success with Jessica Pegula but they stopped playing together
Across the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Gauff and Pegula were one of the top teams on the WTA Tour and they won a total of five doubles titles during that period and were also finalists at the 2022 French Open.
Going into the 2024 Paris Olympics, their goal was to capture the gold medal – or at least win any medal. But those hopes were quickly squashed after they picked up a surprise round-of-16 loss to Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova.
Since then, Gauff and Pegula haven't played together. Earlier this year, Pegula insisted everything was fine between the two but they simply stopped playing doubles because they wanted to focus on singles.
"Coco and I played so much for a couple years there. We did great. A lot of really amazing results and memories. At the same time doing well in the singles court, we obviously didn't want to play as much anymore. The schedule just gets really, really tough. I've barely played this year, probably won't play any of the Grand Slams this year," the 31-year-old explained.
Tauson Stuns Swiatek in Stirring Montreal Win
By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, August 3, 2025
Photo credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty
A crackling Clara Tauson drive sent Iga Swiatek sprawling into a split behind the baseline.
Dictating with her serve, Tauson displaced the powerful Pole with deep drives stunning Swiatek 7-6(1), 6-3 to score one of her biggest career wins in Montreal.
It’s been a tournament of upsets and we’ve seen two of the biggest in the last two days.
Canadian wild card Victoria Mboko shocked top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 last night.
Tonight, Tauson sent the second-seeded Swiatek packing to set up an appealing quarterfinal clash vs. Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Earlier, the sixth-seeded Keys saved a pair of match points conquering Karolina Muchova, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, to book a quarterfinal spot at the Omnium Banque Nationale quarterfinals.
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A calm Tauson denied seven of nine break points snapping Swiatek’s nine-match winning streak with a superb display of power-based baseline tennis. Apart from a sloppy tiebreaker, Swiatek did not play poorly, Tauson just took it to her when it mattered most.
The 16th-seeded Tauson handed the Wimbledon winner her first defeat since she fell to Jessica Pegula in the Bad Homburg grass-court final in June.
One of the WTA Tour’s most commanding servers, Tauson showed tonight she’s much more than a big server. Tauson dotted all areas of the service box to set up her fierce forehand, hit her two-handed backhand with bold intent and while she’s not nearly as quick around the court as the speedy Swiatek, the 22-year-old Dane anticipated the direction of the Pole’s shots and often beat her to the punch. Perhaps that’s because Tauson faced Swiatek at Wimbledon, falling in straight sets at the round of 16 last month.
Tonight, Tauson broke in the third game then backed up the break with a love hold for 3-1.
Though Swiatek earned double break point in the sixth game, Tauson dug in with defiance and fought off four break points during a punishing 14-point game. Tauson held firm for 4-2.
Two games later, the six-time Grand Slam champion earned triple break point. Swiatek was on the verge of breaking again only to see Tauson tame the threat with a five-point surge to hold for 5-3.
Cruising through her own service games, Swiatek threw down a strong hold at 15 for 4-5 then tightened the screws on Tauson’s serve in the 10th game.
When the Dane served for the set, Swiatek finally broke through at 15 to level 5-all.
The tiebreaker was even after two points when Tauson lifted her level racing through six points in a row seizing a one-set lead.
A tough Tauson saved seven of eight break points in that opening set and repeatedly hurt her opponent with the wide serve.
Swiatek would have been wise to drop back a bit deeper behind the baseline to give herself more time on the return—and at least give Tauson a different sightline on serve.
Catching her toss a few times, Tauson was decisive on serving direction as she won eight of the first 10 points on her serve in the second set. Belting deep drives, Tauson broke at 15 for a 3-1 second-set lead.
Tauson slashed successive aces sealing a 7-6, 4-1 lead after one hour, 33 minutes of play.
The six-time Grand Slam champion made a push holding in the sixth game then scoring her second break to cut the gap to 3-4.
Unfazed, Tauson continued torching first strikes and exploited the Pole’s fifth double fault to break back for 5-3.
Serving for one of her biggest career wins, Tauson did not flinch and when Swiatek netted a final backhand, Tauson broke into the wide smile to cap a well-deserved win.
Anastasija Sevastova drops bombshell after upsetting Jessica Pegula in Montreal
Former world No. 11 Anastasija Sevastova admitted she "did not even think" about beating Jessica Pegula after falling behind early, before also hinting at retiring in the next couple of weeks.
In case you missed it, Sevastova – who is ranked at No. 386 in the world and entered Montreal using a protected ranking – pulled off a stunning comeback and upset on Monday when she took out defending champion Pegula 3-6 6-4 6-1. The start of the match went as expected as the third-seeded American was firmly 6-3 2-0 up. But then out of nowhere, the Latvian former world No. 11 won 12 of the next 14 games and progressed into the Montreal round-of-16.
“It’s a bit surreal. I didn’t think about winning all the match. I was just so — I’d like to stay as long as possible on court. In the third set, I think I really played great tennis. I didn’t do any mistakes, and I just put her in bad positions so she has to do a lot of things she doesn’t like. And yeah, at the end, somehow I won," Sevastova reflected.
Sevastova hints at retiring after the US Open
In early 2024, the Latvian four-time WTA champion tore her ACL. After not playing for 13 months, the 35-year-old kicked off her post-surgery comeback in April.
Prior to coming in Montreal, Sevastova had been 5-7 in 2025. And while she is in the midst of a great run at the Canadian Open, she may not play beyond the US Open.
“It’s a bit different now because I come with zero expectations. I mean, I don’t have any good ranking and I’m not going to play every week. I don’t know if I’m going to play after US Open. Depends, maybe I’ll play if I still have fun, maybe not," the 35-year-old admitted.
Meanwhile, Sevastova plays against Naomi Osaka in her next Montreal match.
“It Hasn’t Been Great” – Pegula Bothered by ‘Sloppy” Tennis
It’s just about time for Jessica Pegula to return to the scene of her first major final. The World No.4 would like to head to the 2025 US Open with a little wind beneath her wings, but at the moment she can’t seem to get her feet off the ground.
The Buffalo native produced another head-scratching effort against 386-ranked Anastasija Sevastova on Friday in Montreal, dropping 12 of the final 15 games to make it just one win in four matches since the start of Wimbledon.
“It hasn’t been great, to be honest. I don’t really feel like I’m playing great tennis.”
— Jessica Pegula
Pegula was the two-time defending champion in Canada this week, but could not summon the confidence that took her to titles in Montreal in 2023 and Toronto last year.
For Pegula, who played and lost the final to Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open last year, it simply isn’t good enough.
“It hasn’t been great, to be honest,” the 31-year-old said on Friday in Montreal. “I don’t really feel like I’m playing great tennis. At times I am, but I feel very up and down, kind of sloppy, which I don’t like. It really bothers me. I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I don’t like having to say that.
“I feel like I’ve gone through phases in my career, a few tournaments, where I feel like that sometimes, and you have to figure out how to get out of it and not feel sorry for yourself or make excuses. I’ve got figure it out.”
Pegula still has time to right the ship. She’ll head to the Cincinnati Open next week, hoping to build momentum ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year.
She believes she needs to be a better problem solver, starting now.
“You have to do it in those moments in matches where you’re in that moment where you have to compete and figure things out,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve been able to do it great the last couple of matches, so hopefully going into Cincy I think that’s definitely going to be my main focus every single match is focusing on those big points and those big games because I do think I am playing some good tennis to get up in these matches, and there’s times where I’m reeling off six, seven really good games, and then it kind of falls away.
“So I’ve got to figure out how to kind of sustain that higher level against these good players.”
Anisimova Annihilates Raducanu in Dominant Montreal Performance
By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 1, 2025
Photo credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty
The rematch was a mismatch.
Crackling highly charged drives, Amanda Anisimova jolted Emma Raducanu backward like a woman stricken by surges of static electricity.
In a brilliant performance of power tennis, Anisimova routed Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in a 64-minute thrashing to roll into the Montreal round of 16.
It was Anisimova’s first win over Raducanu in three meetings as she avenged a 6-1, 6-3 loss to the talented Briton in front of home fans in Miami in March.
In that match, Anisimova was bothered by a left wrist issue.
Tonight, Anisimova strong-armed Raducanu with disarming drives from the first point.
The Wimbledon finalist whipped deep strikes persistently pushing Raducanu corner to corner. Anisimova broke twice in a row charging out to a 4-1 lead.
rock solid performance 🤘@AnisimovaAmanda secures her place in the last 16 after defeating Raducanu 6-2, 6-1.#OBN25 pic.twitter.com/aMCq4jLlmo
— wta (@WTA) August 2, 2025
Holding for the first time 28 minutes into the match, Raducanu made a push going up love-30 in the American’s ensuing service game. Anisimova shoved her right back into place, blistering a backhand winner down the line that lashing an ace down the T as part of a four-point run to hold for 5-2.
Even when Raducanu hit her spot on serve, Anisimova was unleashing whiplash returns near the lines. A biting backhand return down the line gave the American a second set point.
Anisimova turned her hips and shoulders into a jarring return sealing a one-set lead with her third break of the set. Anisimova hit 12 winners—nine more than Raducanu—and played much of the 40-minute opener off her front foot.
That opening set was just a prelude to the powerful combinations Anisimova administered in the secodn set.
The fifth-seeded Anisimova won eight straight points to ignite a second-set surge that saw her snatch a 5-0 lead.
It wasn’t that Raducanu even played poorly, an oppressive Anisimova barely gave the Briton an opportunity to play at all. Raducanu held at 30 to deny a second-set bagel.
On a day when defending champion Jessica Pegula was upset by former US Open semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova, the 2024 finalist Anisimova was in cruise control.
Anisimova served out a commanding 64-minute conquest at love firing one final forehand winner crosscourt. The pair embraced at net afterward with both women sharing a smile over Anisimova’s brilliance.
Doha champion Anisimova will face Elina Svitolina for a quarterfinal spot.
The 10th-seeded Svitolina swept Washington, DC finalist Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-1 breaking five times in a 55-minute dissection.
Struggling Jessica Pegula voices frustration, rips her tennis as 'sloppy'
Jessica Pegula admits she feels her tennis has been "sloppy" lately and isn't hiding that she is "bothered" by her results.
In late June, the American tennis star captured her third title of the year after beating Iga Swiatek in the Bad Homburg final. Since then, the world No. 4 has stunningly gone 1-3.
After picking up shock first-round losses at Wimbledon (Elisabetta Cocciaretto) and Washington (Leylah Fernandez), Pegula snapped her mini losing streak at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal by beating Maria Sakkari after a first-round bye. In the Montreal third round, the American was 6-3 2-0 up against Anastasija Sevastova. But then, she inexplicably shut down and world No. 386 Sevastova stormed back to win 3-6 6-3 6-1.
Pegula: My tennis has been kind of sloppy… I don't like it and it bothers me
“It hasn’t been great, to be honest. I don’t really feel like I’m playing great tennis. At times I am, but I feel very up and down, kind of sloppy, which I don’t like. It really bothers me. You have to figure out how to get out of it and not feel sorry for yourself or make excuses. I’ve got figure it out. I feel like I felt pretty confident knowing I like playing here. I’ve always had good results here. … Did I win DC coming into here? No, but at the same time I’ve won tournaments and lost first round. Nothing in tennis makes sense sometimes," the world No. 4 said.
While Pegula is set to lose a good chunk of points by not defending her Montreal title, she will still stay at No. 4 after the tournament. However, that's not the end of troubles for the 31-year-old since she still has a good chunk of points to defend in the rest of the North American hard-court swing – she reached the finals of the US Open and Cincinnati last year.
Unless Pegula quickly figures out something, her North American hard-court swing could turn into a complete disaster.
Sevastova Stuns Two-Time Defending Champion Pegula in Montreal
Anastasija Sevastova flipped the script and bounced two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula from the draw on Friday in Montreal, the new mother notching her first Top-10 win since 2020, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
The victory is Sevastova’s first Top-5 win since she defeated then-third-ranked Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals at the 2018 US Open.
The 386-ranked Latvian is appearing in Montreal for the first time since 2021 due to maternity leave and an ACL tear to her left knee early in her comeback.
Today the 35-year-old rallied back for her second career win over Pegula, winning 12 of the final 15 games to book her spot in the round of 16 alongside Naomi Osaka.
Earlier on Friday Osaka raced past Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 6-4.
“It was tough in the first set,” the former World No.11 said. “I didn’t think I played that great. I was down 2-0 in the second set and I started playing better and better. In the third set I played really well.
“Mentally just finding my game in the second set, just trying to stay on court as long as possible, and fighting for every point.”
Pegula, ranked fourth, has now lost three of four since the start of Wimbledon. She drops to 36-14 on the year.
Montreal: Defending champ Jessica Pegula shocked by No. 386 after blowing big lead
Defending Canadian Open champion Jessica Pegula is out of the Montreal third round after blowing a big lead and picking up a shock 6-3 4-6 1-6 loss to world No. 386 Anastasija Sevastova.
The American, seeded at No. 3 in Montreal, made a strong start as she claimed breaks in the first and ninth games to routinely take the opening set. Up by a set, the defending champion also won the first two games of the second set.
Leading by a set and a break, Pegula appeared to be heading toward a routine straight-set win. But then, Sevastova responded by stunningly winning the next four games. While the American managed to get the break back and level the set to four games apiece, she lost her serve again in the ninth game as the Latvian went 5-4 up before serving out for a decider in the following game.
After failing to capitalize on her early lead, Pegula's game completely collapsed as the world No. 386 won five games in a row from 1-1 in the third set to complete her shock comeback.
386 – Anastasija Sevastova is the 3rd-lowest ranked since the Tier I/WTA-1000 format's introduction in 1990 to defeat a top-5 in such events
Capriati – Hilton Head 1990 (Unrk.)
Stephens – Toronto 2017 (934)
Sevastova – Montreal 2025 (386)✅Shock.#OBN25 | @OBNmontreal @WTA
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 1, 2025
Sevastova collects her first top-10 win since beating Serena Williams & And who is her next Montreal rival?
By beating world No. 4 Pegula, Sevastova – a former world No. 11 – registered her first top-10 win since upsetting Serena Williams in the Billie Jean King Cup.
For a place in the Montreal quarterfinal, Sevastova will play against Naomi Osaka, who defeated Jelena Ostapenko today.
So far, they have met five times and Osaka leads their head-to-head 3-2. However, it should be noted that their last match came more than six years ago during the 2019 Australian Open.
Fourth Gear: Fernandez Crushes Kalinskaya for Fourth Title in Washington, DC
By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, July 27, 2025
Photo credit: Mubadala Citi DC Open Facebook
Pushed into the doubles alley, Leylah Fernandez fired a forehand strike.
Even when she was operating from defensive positions, Fernandez conjured offensive magic.
In a brilliant performance, Fernandez crushed Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 to roll to her fourth career championship at the Mubadala Citi DC Open final today.
The 22-year-old Fernandez made history as the first Canadian to rule Washington, DC. Unleashing a 69-minute thrashing, Fernandez soared to the biggest title of her career—and first since she won 2023 Hong Kong.
“Wow. First of all I want to congratulate Anna and her team,” Fernandez said after winning her first WTA 500 championship. “You’re a tough opponent to play against so congratulations and hope for the best for the future.
“Secondly, I want to thank the DC crowd, give yourself a round of applause. Thank you for being there all week. You guys have been amazing for cheering us on all week through the heat, the humidity the rain so thank you for being here all week.”
Former world No. 13 Fernandez capped a spectacular week that saw her knock off Aussie talent Maya Joint, top-seeded and 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, new WTA doubles No. 1 and home hero Taylor Townsend and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a grueling triple tiebreaker test in the height of the DC heat yesterday.
Fernandez posted four Top 50 wins this week in a stirring triumph that thrusts her back into the Top 25 at No. 24 in the Live Rankings.
World No. 48 Kalinskaya swept 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu yesterday, denying DC fans the prospect of a 2021 US Open final rematch.
The Russian, who had not surrendered a set en route to the final, looked overwhelmed playing for her maiden title today.
“I want to congratulate Leylah, an amazing fighter this week,” Kalinskaya said. “You truly deserve it. I’ll see you soon, maybe we’ll play each other next week you never know.”
Though Kalinskaya’s second serve is usually a sturdy shot, Fernandez won 10 of 12 points played on the Russian’s second serve and converted four of six break points today.
The left-handed Canadian cracked 16 winners, which is seven more than Kalinskaya hit.
Despite her draining three hour, 12-minute triumph over WTA ace leader Rybakina in sweltering heat yesterday, Fernandez exuded more energy and urgency from the opening point today.
Deadlocked after two games, Fernandez surged through five games in a row for a one-set lead.
Belting a backhand down the line brought Fernandez a third set point. Sprinting to her right, Fernandez flicked a drop shot winner to snatch a one-set lead.
Striking a rousing running forehand strike helped Fernandez stretch her lead to 6-1, 3-1.
Straddling the baseline, Fernandez attacked and blocked a forehand volley winner for two more break points.
Cracking a clean backhand return winner down the line, Fernandez stamped her fourth break of the match for a 4-1 second set lead.
Kalinskaya made a brief push going up love-30 in the next game, but Fernandez fired through four points in a row. Flashing a serve winner down the T, Fernandez threw a clenched fist to her father in the support box extending to 6-1, 5-1 after just 61 minutes of play.
On her third championship point, Fernandez closed on Kalinskaya’s 24th unforced error.
Wimbledon | Preview – Whose year is this? Sabalenka, Gauff, Pegula or dark horse Swiatek?
The draw for the Ladies Singles Championships was made on Friday, including direct entries, wild-cards and qualifiers, all 128 of them, who now know who they must face to advance from Monday onwards, if they are to stay in the running to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish on Saturday 12 July.
The post Wimbledon | Preview – Whose year is this? Sabalenka, Gauff, Pegula or dark horse Swiatek? appeared first on Tennis Threads Magazine.
Kessler Dethrones Nottingham Champion Boulter
McCartney Kessler conquered two-time Nottingham champion Katie Boulter for her first grass-court semifinal.
By Tennis Now | @Tennis_Now | Friday, June 20, 2025
Photo credit: Nathan Stirk/Getty for LTA
McCartney Kessler continues her grass groove.
World No. 42 Kessler dethroned two-time Nottingham champion and home hero Katie Boulter 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to advance to her maiden grass-court semifinal at the Nottingham Open today.
Kessler saved 11 of 15 break points snapping the Briton's 12-match winning streak in Notthingham in two hours, seven minutes.
The 25-year-old American battled into her first semifinal since she fell to Jessica Pegula in the Austin final in February.
It is Kessler's second three-set win of the week as she improved to 19-14 on the season.
Kessler will play Rebecca Sramkova for a spot in Sunday's final.
Sramkova stopped seventh-seeded Linda Noskova 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in today's final quarterfinal.
Earlier, sixth-seeded Magda Linette toppled No. 2-seeded Clara Tauson 6-2, 7-5.
World No. 31 Linette avenged her Roland Garros first-round loss to Tauson last month.
Linette will play Dayana Yastremska in tomorrow's semifinals.
Yastremska beat former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-3, 7-6(6)—her first win over the Canadian left-hander in three meetings to reach her first grass-court semifinal.
Paris | Gauff ends Boisson’s fairytale run to reach second French final
It took Coco Gauff, the No 2 in the world, to end Lois Boisson’s fairytale run at the French Open, disappointing millions of home fans, but the 22-year old wild-card could not muster the same resilience as she had in her previous matches to dent the American’s aggressive and athletic game, and succumbed, 6-1 6-2, in Thursday’s second semi-final on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The post Paris | Gauff ends Boisson’s fairytale run to reach second French final appeared first on Tennis Threads Magazine.
Today at Roland Garros Day 9
Today at Roland Garros, the French Open was buzzing with high-stakes matches. In the women’s singles, Loïs Boisson created a stir by defeating the American No. 3 Jessica Pegula in a dramatic match. Ranked 361st, Boisson’s win by 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 was a major upset, making her the lowest-ranked woman to beat a top-five player at the French Open in four decades. She’s now set to face sixth-seeded Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals. The day also saw second-seeded Coco Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, advance against Ekaterina Alexandrova. On the men’s side, No. 3 Alexander Zverev advanced due to the retirement of Tallon Griekspoor, who suffered an abdominal strain.
In other matches, tennis legend Novak Djokovic continued his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title, having already reached his 100th match win at Roland Garros, joining an elite group with Federer and Nadal. Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. The tournament is heating up as we approach the final stages, with fans eagerly following every serve and volley on the iconic clay courts of Paris.
Paris | Vive La France! Boisson stuns Pegula, Andreeva next?
In the biggest shock of the French Open, a wild-card ranked 361 stunned the World No 3, Jessica Pegula, 3-6 6-4 6-4, in their 4th-round meeting on Monday, thrilling the home crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
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Americans Land Eight in Roland-Garros Round of 16, Most Since 1985
It's been a banner year for Team USA on the Parisian clay.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday May 31, 2025
Paris – American tennis has smashed a record that stood for 40 years at Roland-Garros. Eight Americans – five women, three men – have reached the singles Round of 16 at the French Open for the first time in 40 years.
The last time the Roland-Garros fourth round featured eight or more American players was 1985, also with five women and three men.
On the women’s side, Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova and Hailey Baptiste reached the fourth round. On the men’s side, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe made it through.
The American men have placed three in the second week for the first time since 1995. All three Americans will be in action on Sunday in Paris, with Shelton taking on Alcaraz, Paul facing Alexei Popyrin and Tiafoe facing Daniel Altmaier.
On the women’s side, Anisimova will face Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday.
Keys will face Baptiste in an all-American clash on Monday, Pegula will take on France’s Loic Boisson, while Gauff will face Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.