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Tuesday, May 26, 2026

RG.3- Emma's Parisian Persuasion

“You must be the best judge of your own happiness.” - Jane Austen, from Emma




For Emma Navarro, this year's Roland Garros has already been more of a success than last year's version. In 2025, the then #9-seed exited Paris in the 1st Round, crashing out as the victim of Jessica Bouzas Maneiro by a stunning 6-1/6-0 score.

What was unknown then was that at the time Navarro was experiencing ongoing illness and emotional issues while *also* trying to traverse the world tennis tour, not always a user-friendly experience even when those involved in the swirl are 100% up to snuff. Fatigue, weight fluctuations and overall trouble persisted into 2026 as she continued to move forward with a full schedule. She started the year at 4-9 before finally stepping back to take a two-month break (missing her hometown event in Charleston) in order to head home and get things straight.

In her initial return match this spring in Rome, Navarro fell in straight sets to Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and she lost twice in her first three clay matches before the former U.S. Open semifinalist (2024) seemed to begin to find her groove again in Strasbourg, feeling more "like (her)self." By then, she'd nearly fallen outside the Top 40 after having been in the Top 10 as recently as last July.

Strasbourg showed a more in-form Navarro than we'd seen in quite a while, as her success grew over the course of the week, resulting in her first career WTA clay title, first Top 10 win on the dirt (over Vicky Mboko in the final), and an immediate pre-RG improvement of *14* spots in the rankings (from #39 to #25) .

In her RG opener on Day 3, Navarro continued the "better vibes" portion of her story, taking out Janice Tjen in straight sets, 6-4/6-3.

She's one of thirteen Bannerettes (of the 19 in the draw) to post 1st Round wins in Paris this year.



To be continued...







=DAY 3 NOTES=
...in today's match-up between #12 Linda Noskova and Maria Sakkari, it was very easy to have something of a mindbending experience when considering the two players.

On one hand, you had Noskova, a Czech who came into RG with a chance to crack the Top 10, having maintained her position and even moved up in the rankings a bit over the course of the first five months of this season. And yet... and yet.

At least from this space, it's been hard to shake the feeling this year that Noskova has also taken something of a half-step *back* in 2026, leaving enough possible upward movement on the table in the first half of the year for it to be noticeable.

It's somewhat akin to what has become Noskova's career pattern in match-ups with Iga Swiatek, against whom her big-hitting game presents an obvious challenge (if not danger), and at times in-match she looks fully capable of dusting off the former #1. But Noskova ultimately remains both just good enough *and* not *yet* good enough to complete "a BIG move." Hence, in her seven meetings with Swiatek, though the Czech won their second (at AO24) and has often significantly pushed back against the Pole (forcing opening set TBs in three of their five matches since, as well as tight 6-4 1st sets in the other two, going three in consecutive meetings in a stretch), it's Swiatek who holds a commanding 6-1 lead in their h2h, winning five straight times.

Just good enough, but not quite good enough.

Noskova came into Paris behind a season with one big result (Indian Wells SF), a few very good ones (Madrid QF/Rome 4r) and an "okay" AO run (3r), but also three 2nd Round exits in 1000 events and zero appearances in finals after reaching three during the '25 season. To extend the "not quite" narrative a little bit further, Noskova has one of the worst career records in WTA finals (1-5) of any current top ranked player, even while being one of the few top Czechs who manages to avoid having her training and match play limited by a series of injuries.

Noskova's clay season hasn't been spectacular, but has also been good enough (with multiple wins in all three of her events) to envision at least a good run into the second week of RG.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, her opponent Sakkari is clearly not at the level she was a few years ago when she reached multiple slam semis (both in '21) and enjoyed a very long stretch (some of it justified) in the Top 10, but she's also one who has flashed some comeback potential in '26 after re-teaming with former longtime coach Tom Hill *last* clay season. The Greek notched two wins at the United Cup (def. Osaka), and reached the Doha semis with a pair of Top 10 upsets over Jasmine Paolini and Swiatek before losing to eventual champion Karolina Muchova in three sets.

But while Sakkari has *seemed* to be tilting upward a bit in '26, at the start of the day she stood at just 9-10 on the year, was ranked #49 and was 1-4 on clay (though her lone win came via a love 3rd set victory over rising teen Lilli Tagger), with 1st Round eliminations in Charleston, Madrid and Strasbourg, and a 2nd Round loss in Rome. Her last six losses came via straight sets, as have nine of her ten on the season.

Coming in, Noskova seemed to have the edge, but the questions regarding both (negatively for the Czech, a bit more positively for Sakkari) lingered, and ultimately proved to be the catalyst for what would occur.

It was Sakkari who grabbed an early 3-1 lead in the 1st set, but Noskova's late competitive arrival to the proceedings saw her surge to take a 5-4 lead, only to come up short by dropping serve at 5-5 and then seeing Sakkari take advantage of the moment, holding at love to win 7-5.

Noskova led 4-1 in the 2nd, and was well on her way to forcing a 3rd set when she took a 5-2 lead, holding triple BP/SP at love/40 a game later. But a series of ill-timed unforced errors proved her undoing there, and then led to the Czech being broken at love in the following game, as well. A set that was seemingly in Noskova's back pocket went to a TB.

Knotted at 3-3, and with servers having won each of the first seven points in the breaker, Noskova dropped *both* serves to fall behind 6-3. Sakkari completed her sweep of the final five points, taking the match 7-5/7-6(5) for her first win in Paris since the 1st Round in 2022. She'd been 1-5 at RG since defeating Swiatek in the '21 QF to reach her maiden slam semi five years ago.

Though she has just ten wins on the season, this was the fourth vs. a Top 20 opponent for Sakkari in '26. The Greek continues to poke her head out of the proverbial water, now it's just about pulling herself fully to the surface. Maybe this will be the spark?



Meanwhile, Noskova falls to 15-15 in slams for her career, 9-9 since reaching her first major QF at AO24. Ranked as highly as she is, she *should* have better numbers than that, right?

Yet that also somehow feels "just about right."

...elsewhere, the Naomi Osaka fashion parade sent another outfit (two versions of it, really) down the runway.



I guess this will continue to be a thing. Which is fine.

It's been something of a tradition in majors, starting a while back with Serena Williams, usually at the U.S. Open. But for Williams it was simply a *side* show made possible due to her stature and continuing success, as she'd have her fashion fun and then go on to add big trophies to her collection, while with Osaka -- though she's managed to climb and stick (for now, anyway) in the Top 20 -- it's teetering on the edge of being *the* show.

When asked the other day about her model exploits, Osaka wondered what was wrong with being "a little extra." The answer: nothing, but for a four-time major winner, it's only "extra" if there's something *else* going on. Otherwise it's just a distraction in lieu of actual results.

Osaka hasn't won a WTA title since 2021. Today's was just her fifteenth match of this season, and her name isn't Krejcikova. Actually, as Day 3 began the perpetually-on-the-comeback Czech (w/ 14) had played the same number of matches this year as Osaka (and Barbora only had *one* less win). In her most recent match, in Rome, Osaka clocked just three games vs. Iga Swiatek.

Meanwhile, Osaka gets as much (far, more actually, by a wide margin) attention for appearing at the Met gala and hosting private parties these days than for her tennis, as the ongoing coverage of her showgirl dress (and debates over what she'll wear next) will surely attest over the next 48 hours.



Playing today against 38-year old Laura Siegemund, the second oldest woman in the women's draw (just behind fellow 38-year old German Tatjana Maria), Osaka wasn't served the sort of game style in an opponent that someone who prefers straight-up ball striking would prefer. The two hadn't played since 2018, and Osaka had lost their only match on red clay (Rome '17), though she did win on the green kind in Charleston in '18.

#16 Osaka played well in the 1st, but was lured out of her typical go-for-it approach in the 2nd. Siegemund served for the set at 5-3, only to see her work to get back into the match put out to pasture by a string of unforced errors that came from nowhere (well, other than the pressure of serving out the set). She dropped serve because of that, then it continued into the next game as Osaka held at love for 5-5. The Osaka points streak went to eight in a row with one more add to start off game 11, most of them courtesy of Siegemund's sudden charity.

Still, Siegemund managed to hold for 6-5, saving three BP in an 11-minute game, and soon things went to a TB. There, again, Osaka went on a points run that carried over from another love hold in game 12, taking six straight to hold a mini-break TB edge at 2-0. Osaka wasn't pristine the rest of the way, but Siegemund ended the match by ultimately losing five of her six service points in the breaker, falling 7-3 as Osaka's final run included sweeping the match's last four points to win 6-3/7-6(3).

Osaka has never advanced past the 3rd Round in Paris, with the last time she got that far coming in 2019.

...for the most part, the Bannerettes have been in fine form in the 1st Round of this RG. Going into the last women's match of the day, the U.S. women were a combined 13-5.

#5 Jessie Pegula seemed about to move along, as well, as she led Aussie Kimberly Birrell 6-1 and held a break edge for 2-1 in the 2nd. But from there forward the veteran's hopes simply went off the rails as the world #83 rallied to pull off the biggest upset of her career, winning 1-6/6-3/6-3.



While model-of-consistency Pegula had had just one 1st Round exit in a major since the 2020 RG (at last year's Wimbledon) until today, up until her loss in the Rome QF to Iga Swiatek she'd started 2026 with a 28-0 record this season against anyone not named Elena Rybakina (0-3) or Marta Kostyuk (0-2).

Birrell had lost her last *nine* 1st Round matches in majors, and was just 3-13 in slam opening matches in her career.

...meanwhile, the Pastries *did* finally get off the mat to post a win today, when Elsa Jacquemot became the first French woman (after an 0-6 collective start, all losses by players the FFT handed MD wild cards... so, good job there to all involved -- actually *all* the WCs went 0-8) to reach the 2nd Round, defeating Linda Fruhvirtova 6-4/6-3.



A year after reaching the semifinals as a wild card, though, Lois Boisson fell in straights today to #22 Anna Kalinskaya, 6-2/6-2. Later in the day, Diane Parry prevented Jacquemot from immediately claiming "Last Pasty Standing" honors, posting a good win over Anhelina Kalinina. Parry has won six of her last seven matches.



Unfortunately (for them), it's still not enough to keep the French women from claiming the "Nation of Poor Souls" designation for this major. 2-7 in the 1st Round, with a qualifying shutout (none of the 14 FRA in the Q-draw reached the MD), 0-6 mark from wild card entrants, and '25 star Boisson putting in just a cameo appearance this time around is more than enough to sink the group to the bottom.

(The 0-3 Hungarians give a sigh of relief.)

Meanwhile, the Polish women earn "Revelation Ladies" honors with their second straight 4-0 1st Round mark in '26 majors, while the Swiss (even while Simona Waltert's loss to Katerina Siniakova took the group out of the undefeated category) are the "Upset Queens" with wins over two of the seven seeded women ousted in the 1st Round (Bandecchi def. #31 Bucsa, Teichmann def. #20 Samsonova).






...I DON'T CARE ABOUT DRAKE, BUT THIS WAS A (though belated) GOOD COMEBACK FROM THE TOURNAMENT SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM... ON DAY 3:



Also (FYI), and a very good point made...




And, I know the irritation...





...Hmmm... ON DAY 3:


Last year, Coco Gauff's rackets "got lost in the transition" on her trip to Paris, and she went on to win the title. This year...



Haha, good one!



..."Française Forehand" HAD A LOT OF HIGHLIGHTS AT RG25... ON DAY 3:

This was pretty much her only one at RG26...





..."COCO IN ACTION PHOTOS" STRIKES AGAIN... ON DAY 3:





























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**RG 1st ROUND BY NATION - alphabetical**
1-0 - ARG
2-2 - AUT
2-4 - AUS
1-1 - BEL
1-0 - BLR
0-1 - BRA
1-1 - CAN
2-3 - CHN
1-1 - COL
2-1 - CRO
4-5 - CZE
0-1 - DEN
1-0 - EGY
2-4 - ESP
2-7 - FRA
2-1 - GBR
2-3 - GER
0-1 - GRE
0-3 - HUN
0-1 - INA
1-2 - ITA
1-1 - JPN
2-0 - KAZ
1-0 - LAT
0-1 - MEX
0-1 - MNE
0-1 - PHI
4-0 - POL
1-2 - ROU
4-5 - RUS
0-1 - SLO
4-1 - SUI
0-1 - SVK
0-1 - TUR
1-0 - UZB
5-2 - UKR
13-6 - USA
===
TOTAL MD NATIONS: 37
MOST IN 2nd RD. (26 diff. nations): 13-USA, 5-UKR, 4-CZE, 4-POL, 4-RUS, 4-SUI
UNDEFEATED 1st RD.: 4-0 (POL); 2-0 (KAZ) (1-0 = ARG,BLR,EGY,LAT,UZB)
BEST NON-UNDEFEATED 1st RD.: 4-1 (SUI); 5-2 (UKR); 2-1 (CRO), 2-1 (GBR)
WORST 1st RD.: 0-3 (HUN); 2-7 (FRA); 2-4 (AUS); 1-2 (ITA,ROU)
SEEDS OUT: 7 (2-RUS; 1-CAN,1-CZE,1-DEN,1-ESP,1-USA)
DEF.SEEDS: 2-SUI; 1-AUS,1-COL,1-GRE,1-UKR,1-USA
SLAM MD DEBUTS: 10 (2-AUT,2-FRA; 1-BEL,1-CHN,1-ESP,1-RUS,1-SUI,1-USA)
FIRST-TIME SLAM 2nd Rd.: 6 (2-ESP; 1-CRO,1-GBR,1-SUI,1-UKR)

*RECENT RG "REVELATION LADIES" WINNERS' NATION/REGION*
2016 France
2017 Muslim women
2018 Romania
2019 Russia
2020 Romania
2021 Czech Republic
2022 Czech Republic
2023 Russia
2024 China
2025 United States
2026 Poland

*RECENT RG "UPSET QUEENS" NATION/REGION*
2016 South America
2017 South America
2018 Ukraine
2019 Russia
2020 Australia
2021 Slovenia
2022 France
2023 Italy
2024 United States
2025 Czech Republic
2026 Switzerland

*RG "NATIONS OF POOR SOULS"*
[2018]
LAT (both DC Ostapenko & Sevastova out 1st Rd.)
[2019]
ITA (0-2; first none in RG 2nd Rd. since 1982)
[2020]
USA (4 seeds pre-3r, Serena w/d 2r, US QF/SF Rogers/Brady 1r, Venus 1r, Gauff 2r w/ 19 DF)
[2021]
GER (0-3 in 1st Rd.; Kerber FSO 2 con GS/2 of 3 RG; Siegemund 1r)
[2022]
HUN (0-4 in 1st Rd.; Galfi 2 MP in loss)
[2023]
CZE (3-9 in 1st Rd.; four seeds out 1r; Krej. 0-2 since '21 title; 24 con. slam WD streak ends)
[2024]
GER (1-5 in 1st Rd.)
[2025]
AUS (2-5 in 1st Rd.; wins in AUS/AUS match-up and by new Aussie Kasatkina only)
[2026]
FRA (0/14 from Q-draw reach MD; wild cards 0-6; 2-7 overall 1st Rd.; '25 SF Boisson out 1r)

*RECENT RG "LAST WILD CARD STANDING"*
2018 Pauline Parmentier/FRA (3rd Rd.)
2019 Lauren Davis/USA, Priscilla Hon/AUS & Diane Parry/FRA (2nd)
2020 G.Bouchard/CAN, C.Burel/FRA & T.Pironkova/BUL (3rd)
2021 Astra Sharma/AUS & Harmony Tan/FRA (2nd)
2022 Leolita Jeanjean/FRA & Dasha Saville/AUS (3rd)
2023 L.Jeanjean/FRA, E.Navarro/USA & D.Parry/FRA (2nd)
2024 Chloe Paquet/FRA (3rd Rd.)
2025 Lois Boisson/FRA (SF)
2026 0-8 in 1st Rd.

*RECENT RG "CRASH-AND-BURN"*
2018 Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1st Rd., earliest RG DC since '05)
2019 Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1st Rd.; zero RG wins before/after '17 title)
2020 U.S. Open '20 SF (Osaka DNP, Brady 1r, Serena w/d 2r, Azarenka 2r - in 24 hrs)
2021 Ash Barty, AUS and Naomi Osaka, JPN (#1 seed ret. 2r; #2 seed w/d 2r)
2022 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (1st/DC) and Ons Jabuer, TUN (hottest non-Iga on clay)
2023 Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (0-2 at RG since winning '21 title)
2024 Maria Sakkari, GRE (1st Rd. in 4 of 5 slams)
2025 Emma Navarro, USA (1st Rd.; #9 wins just 1 game vs. Bouzas Maneiro)
2026 Jessie Pegula, USA (1st Rd; #5 to #83 Birrell, who'd lost 9 con. GS 1r)

*MAIDEN CAREER SLAM MD WINS - 2020-26*
-ROLAND GARROS (37)-
2020 Irina Bara, ROU
2020 Clara Burel, FRA
2020 Jasmine Paolini, ITA
2020 Nadia Podoroska, ARG
2020 Anastasia Rakhimova, RUS
2020 Clara Tauson, DEN
2020 Martina Trevisan, ITA
2020 Renata Zarazua, MEX
2021 Hailey Baptiste, USA
2021 Tereza Martincova, CZE
2021 Harmony Tan, FRA
2022 Fernanda Contreras, MEX
2022 Elsa Jacquemot, FRA
2022 Leolia Jeanjean, FRA
2022 Katie Volynets, USA
2023 Mirra Andreeva, RUS
2023 Elina Avanesyan, RUS
2023 Julia Grabher, AUT
2023 Emma Navarro, USA
2023 Linda Noskova, CZE
2023 Iryna Shymanovich, BLR
2023 Peyton Stearns, USA
2023 Simona Waltert, SUI
2024 Moyuka Uchjima, JPN
2025 Emiliana Arango, COL
2025 Sara Bejlek, CZE
2025 Lois Boisson, FRA
2025 Joanna Garland, TPE
2025 Victoria Mboko, CAN
2025 Leyre Romero Gormaz, ESP
2025 Tereza Valentova, CZE
2026 Susan Bandecchi, SUI
2026 Marina Bassols Ribera, ESP
2026 Francesca Jones, GBR
2026 Oleksandra Oliynykova, UKR
2026 Kaitlin Quevedo, ESP
2026 Antonia Ruzic, CRO






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UFC as in the Ultimate Fighting Championship league, or whatever? Why is there a *UFC* event at the *White House*? Why are they doing construction on the White House for it? Is the White House now available to be rented out for parties and weddings, too?

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— daniel22223333.bsky.social (@daniel22223333.bsky.social) May 26, 2026 at 12:01 PM

hard to find a way to make "UFC event on the White House lawn" more embarrassing but "it's a birthday party for the President" somehow does it

[image or embed]

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger.bsky.social) May 26, 2026 at 12:07 PM


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Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing a text, writing an email, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing since the dawn of time.

— Boze the Library Owl (@sketchesbyboze.bsky.social) December 23, 2025 at 3:24 PM

I find Gmail’s new “write this for me” feature deeply sinister. They’re trying to convince you that you are dumb and helpless. Don’t let them steal your ability to formulate thoughts and communicate. You were capable of writing an email in 2022 and you’re capable now.

[image or embed]

— Boze the Library Owl (@sketchesbyboze.bsky.social) January 15, 2026 at 2:49 PM


On that note, maybe it was just me, but I found it a little disturbing the other day when Swiatek -- a noted book nerd -- a little sheepishly admitted that she sometimes used AI to compose emails. A small thing, but also a slippery slope.










TOP QUALIFIER: Claire Liu/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): x
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Oceane Dodin/FRA (PR) def. Kayla Day/USA 6-4/2-6/7-6(15-13) - saved 2 MP in TB, wins on MP #5
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): x
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #27 Marie Bouzkova/CZE (def. Bronzetti/ITA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #21 Clara Tauson/DEN (1r - lost to Snigur/UKR)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Susan Bandecchi/SUI (1st MD), Marina Bassols Ribera/ESP (2nd MD), Francesca Jones/GBR (7th MD), Oleksandra Oliynykova/UKR (2nd MD), Kaitlin Quevedo/ESP (1st MD), Antonia Ruzic/CRO (3rd MD)
UPSET QUEENS: Switzerland
REVELATION LADIES: Poland (4-0 1st Rd. in consecutive '26 majors)
NATION OF POOR SOULS: FRA (none of 14 in Q-draw reach MD; wild cards go 0-6 year after WC Boisson to SF; 2-7 1st Rd.; Boisson out 1r)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: in 1r: Susan Bandecchi/SUI, Marina Bassols Ribera/ESP, Maja Chwalinska/POL, Alina Korneeva/RUS, Claire Liu/USA, Kaitlin Quevedo/ESP, Mayar Sherif/EGY, Wang Xiyu/CHN
LUCKY LOSER WINS: --
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: 0-8 in 1st Rd. (including 0-5 FRA)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Jil Teichmann/SUI (in 2r)
LAST PASTRY STANDING: in 2r: Elsa Jacquemot, Diane Parry
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: x
IT "??": x
COMEBACK: x
CRASH & BURN: #5 Jessie Pegula/USA (1r- lost to #83 Birrell, who'd lost 9 con. slam 1r matches and 3-13 career; Pegula led by 6-1/2-1 w/ break; second 1r loss in major since RG20)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Nominees: Baptiste (1r- saved 2 MP at 6-4 in 2nd set TB vs. Krejcikova; McNally (1r- trailed set and double-break 3-0 vs. Tomljanovic); F.Jones (1r- trailed Haddad Maia 6-1/4-2; gets maiden slam MD win); Snigur (1r- trailed Tauson set and 5-3, Tauson served 5-4); Svitolina (1r- trailed Bondar 3-1 in 3rd; avoided first 1r RG loss in 13 app.)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: --
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
Legion de Lenglen: 100th anniversary of Suzanne Lenglen's last "grand slam" titles (RG WS/WD/MX sweep) in 1926 (she'd retire after controversial Wimbledon withdrawal and join professional tour that summer)
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: (award given on Henin's birthday, June 1)








All for Day 3. More tomorrow.
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Monday, May 25, 2026

RG.2- A Light Flickers, but Remains Strong

The City of Light almost turned prematurely dark for Elina Svitolina on Day 2. Almost.



In the "old days," Svitolina was never at her best when it came to the pressure of expectation. It's why she never reached a major final, let alone win one, when at the "peak" of what should have been her slam contending years in the late 2010s, often collapsing on her way out the door (even at her best major), whether or not she had her foot (or more) in the door late in the event she always ended up having the door slammed shut -- often *hard* -- on it.

With her third title in Rome having recently been claimed, and with the women's title at Roland Garros not something that can be particulary -- with *true* conviction -- pinned at the center of any player's Parisian vision board as everyone works their way into this major, a now 31-year old Svitolina, having staged a successful return after becoming a first-time mother, once again finds herself in the middle of the conversation.

In the past, that didn't go very well for her in this event.

Yes, this year's RG might provide an in-form and confident Svitolina with her best chance yet at an ever-elusive major title. In truth, even before her current later-career surge it likely *always* has been the most likely site for such a thing, even while she's actually played *deeper* into the draw at *each* of the other three slam events.

Svitolina, though RG is her best slam (she arrived this year with a 33-12 mark, just two wins from officially making it her winningest major), has never quite handled the moment as well in Paris as she has in Melbourne, London or New York. Hmmm, perhaps because she *knew* it might provide her with her best chance? See above.

While having reached AO-WI-US semifinals four times in all, the Ukrainian is 0-5 in QF matches in Paris. She's lost in straight sets at that stage four times, never to the eventual champ, and once to a qualifier (as the #3 seed). In the other instance, she squandered a set and 5-1 lead (w/ a MP) vs. Simona Halep, collapsing and dropping the 3rd set at love in '17. As it turned out, it was Alona Ostapenko who defeated Halep in the final that year and lifted the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen that might have been Svitolina's to embrace.

Arriving in the City of Light with tennis momentum, and with the sentimental push of it also being French husband Gael Monfils' final appearance in the tournament (that *officially* happened on Night 2), #7-seeded Svitolina couldn't pick a better time to shine. Then today's 1st Round match with Anna Bondar began to play out.

The Hungarian has, as they say, "had Svitolina's number" in the past. She'd beaten her in their last two meetings, at last year's U.S. Open and a month ago in Svitolina's opening match in Madrid, the last time she lost a match. Of course, Svitolina also defeated *her* at last year's RG, in a tight 2nd Rounder (7-6/7-5), and came into Monday undefeated (12-0) in 1st Round matches in the tournament, the only major at which she's never been one-and-done during her career.

That stat almost changed drastically today, as Svitolina's potentially "best" RG nearly turned out to be her worst.

Bondar took the opening set 6-3, but Svitolina rebounded to dominate a 6-1 2nd, sending things into a 3rd set for the first time in their now five-match h2h series. Bondar took a 3-1 lead in the decider before Svitolina turned the tables and ran off three straight games, going up 4-3 and leading for the first time on the scoreboard in the match.

Svitolina consolidated her break in game 8 with a hold to lead 5-3, and two games later served for the win at 5-4. But, with shades of the Halep match of nine years ago, couldn't close it out. Bondar broke to knot the set at 5-5, and three games later things went to a Match Tie-Break.

There, finally, Svitolina found her footing and didn't waver. Bondar did, though, as the Hungarian's early unforced errors in the TB contributed mightily to Svitolina taking a 5-0 lead. At 6-2, Bondar's forehand error gave Svitolina another five-point lead in the first-to-ten breaker at 7-2, though Bondar (in the moment) thought the match was over, as would be the case in a regular seven-point TB played in non-slam matches.

(As was noted by Caroline Wozniacki during TNT's coverage, why doesn't the chair umpire *make sure* that both players -- and the fans, too -- know what the scoring format is at the *start* of the breaker? Would it be *that* difficult?)

The error, and maybe the release of tension, wasn't something that Bondar could overcome. And, unlike with Halep years ago, Svitolina didn't help things along in that direction. Instead, she pushed all the way *through* the finish this time, taking a 9-2 lead and, two points later, winning 10-3 with a touch of backspin (small "b") at the net on MP, winnning 3-6/6-1/7-6(10-3) and advancing to the RG 2nd Round for a thirteenth time.

Unlike in Bondar's recent encounter with another Ukrainian, Svitolina (as she did in Madrid) greeted the Hungarian with a (hearty, in this case) handshake at the net.



So, Svitolina's personal vision board for this major stays intact. Also, this was her *second* handshake in a matter of weeks with Bondar, who was publicly chastised and snubbed on the court in Rouen by Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova, who dug through the archives to charge the Hungarian with complicity in Russia's war on Ukraine because she played in a exhibition in Saint Petersburg sponsored by the Russian energy company Gazprom, and then demanded a public apology in order for her to display any sort of even obligatory respect toward her opponent when the time came. Today's moment, while not noticed much at the time like those when handshakes *haven't* occurred at the net after matches, at least prevented the post-match actions of Ukrainian players from continuing to swirl out of control.

One has sometimes doubted that the always-sporting Svitolina ever heartfully embraced at least *this* part of the Ukrainian players' stance during the war, especially after a competitive match against an opponent who deserved respect rather than total on-court disregard (and then off-court disparagement), but was committed to it nonetheless out of responsibility to the cause. Remember, she has at times at least nodded to Russian opponents in the aftermath of matches, and today continued to not extend Oliynykova's (or, probably Marta Kostyuk's, should the two play) ban to include opponents neither Russian nor Belarusian.

Oliynykova, specifically, as well as Kostyuk at times, seem to revel in the chance to flash disrespect, with the former seeming to individually search the internet for biographical reasons to snub as many opponents as possible, as if its almost a personal branding opportunity (with the upcoming snubbing announced in advance on social media as if its a promotional event).

Ironically, considering the no-handshakes/photos/acknowledgement policy has always (in part) been defended by the notion that such moments could be used by the Russian government as propaganda, the very same could be said about the public actions taken by some of the Ukrainian players, as well. It's certainly led to the extension of the shelf life of the discussion of these situations, even if the comments often remains the same on both sides of the issue (and are sometimes more than a bit unhinged).

Of course, none of that has anything to do with Svitolina's match. It was just nice to see a moment that *didn't* drag the sport even further into the mire of the situation.

After all, as was always the case in the past when athletes from nations in conflict met on the *battlefield of sport*, it can also been viewed as an opportunity to break down barriers and build bridges -- while still trying, maybe *extra* hard, to win -- that should not be taken lightly. Sometimes, a simple handshake is just that, a simple act of courtesy that often says more about the person who refuses to extend it than the person or people from whom its being withheld.

Anyway, what else happened in Paris...?






=DAY 2 NOTES=
...now, this was more like it. Forza, Jasmine. Forza.



2026 has been a rough season for Jasmine Paolini, especially compared to the last two years.

In 2024, the Italian reached back-to-back slam singles finals in Paris and London en route to a career season that included an Olympic Gold in doubles (and RG final). Last year, her success in the majors wasn't as great as a solo act, but the Italian swept the s/d titles in Rome, then won her first major title in RG doubles alongside Sara Errani. She later led Team Italia to a second straight BJK Cup championship.

But almost five full months deep into 2026, Paolini has yet to reach a singles final, nor win a doubles crown. She returned to Paris, in many ways where it all "started," with just a 3-3 mark this clay season and having dropped out of the Top 10 in singles, coming in as the #13 seed.

Well, in this case, her familiarity with the feel and setting of the second major on the tennis schedule surely provided a much-needed level of comfort. Right on cue, Paolini posted one of her best results of the year, eliminating Dayana Yastremska (a 125 winner last week) by a 7-5/6-3 score. The win over the world #45 is Paolini's best victory (by ranking) since she took out then-#14 Belinda Bencic in Ningbo last October.

The Italian had to battle early on, falling behind 5-3 in the 1st after having led 3-1. Yastremska served for the set at 5-4, but Paolini swept the final four games to take the match lead. She then saved three BP to get the hold in game 1 of the 2nd, then broke the Ukrainian a game later (on BP #4) in an eleven-minute service game. She'd hold to run her game streak to six, and didn't look back.



...it's not time for early-round honors quite yet, but some early trends *have* taken place in the first two days of women's results.

For one, the French women are putting up as poor a mark as was anticipated. After seeing none of the 14 Pastries in the women's qualifying draw play their way into the main draw field, two more losses by the home team today in Paris (from Leolia Jeanjean and Sarah Rakotomanga) drop the French to 0-5 in the opening round (w/ all five losses from players given free-pass wild cards by the FFT, with only lower-level '26 clay ace Alice Tubello left to try to avoid a total shutout). In all, just four more French women are left to debut at this RG on Day 3.

One of those women still to play is Lois Boisson, who put on a miraculous run to the semis a year ago as a wild card coming back from a knee injury. She was out early this year again, and arrives having played just five matches in 2026 (going 1-4). Elsa Jacquemot and Diane Parry round out the final French chances to reach the 2nd Round.

On the other side of the equation, the Polish and Swiss women have combined to go 8-0, with both nations sporting spotless 4-0 marks.



After wins yesterday from Magda Linette and Magdalena Frech, #3 seed Iga Swiatek got her turn today and, as usual, shined in the opening round. She's certainly a write-it-in-pen performer when it comes to this sort of thing.

Of course, maybe Swiatek would put on such shows even if she had a particuarly tougher opening round opponent, but 17-year old Emerson Jones fits what at least *feels* like the typical starting foe in majors for the four-time RG champ, one who might show some promise but who really has little chance to compete for the win on the day. Swiatek won 6-1/6-3 in the Aussie's tournament MD debut, claiming her 26th straight 1st Round slam match (including 25/25 in the 2020s) and improving to 41-3 in her RG career.

It's been been two full years since Swiatek reached a final on clay, though, so we'll see how things go from here forward. Of note, her potential 3rd Round match-up with #29 Alona Ostapenko (the Latvian is 6-0 in the series) is still on, as the '17 RG champ defeated Ella Seidel 6-4/6-4 today. Now only Linette (vs. Ostapenko) and Sara Bejlek (vs. Iga) stand in the way of their first meeting in Paris.

Swiatek was joined in the 2nd Round today by Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinksa, whose 6-4/6-0 defeat of Zheng Qinwen (nowhere near back to form after her elbow injury) means the '24 Paris Olymipc Gold winner will drop from #56 to all the way out of the *Top 100* after RG.



With no Polish women yet to play a 1st Round match remaining, the nation's undefeated mark will go on. Switzerland, with Simona Waltert set to go on Day 3 (vs. Siniakova), one final 1st Round hurdle remians. But the Swiss knocked off *two* seeds today alone.

Yes, the seeded players in question -- #31 Cristina Bucsa and #20 Liudmila Samsonova -- are currently in dire straights when it comes to posting W's, but it still counts.

It was qualifier Susan Bandecchi, making her slam MD debut at age 27, who took out Bucsa 6-4/2-6/6-4, handing the Spaniard her sixth straight loss. Bucsa has gone 1-6 since sweeping the s/d titles in Merida, winning her maiden tour singles crown.



Jil Teichmann,in the draw via her protected ranking but coming in hot off a SF run in Rabat, took down Samsonova, winning 6-4/6-4 to drop the Hordette to 7-13 on the season as she remains in the throes of one of her patented poor season starts. I included this in Saturday's Week 19 post, but I find it so fascinating that I'll update and use it again here.

Samsonova's starts and finishes to seasons the last few years couldn't be any more remarkably different. Her starts:

2022: 10-14 (until winning Washington in August)
2023: 8-9 (until a Madrid 4th Round)
2024: 5-11 (until a Strasbourg SF)
2025: 10-11 (until a Strasbourg RU)
2026: 7-13 (so far)

Even with those starts, she's not had a sub-.500 season in the bunch. Here are her season finishes:

2022: 20-3 (for 30-17)
2023: 26-15 (for 34-24)
2024: 21-12 (for 26-23)
2025: 20-12 (for 30-23)
2026: ???

Talk about a "failure to launch."

Meanwhile, after a Day 1 win from #11 Belinda Bencic, Viktorija Golubic allowed just two games to Panna Udvardy today, completing Switzerland's (so far) 4-0 1st Round experience at this major.

...Of course, Samsonova has nothing on Maya Joint, whose faltering "year after" fate continues to, well, falter.

The Aussie, who won two tour titles last year in a breakout campaign, lost her *tenth* straight match this season today (falling to 2-12) in a 6-1/6-2 defeat at the hands of #28 Anastasia Potapova. Of course, the Austrian has been virtually on fire this spring, and is now 15-4 on the dirt with Linz RU, Madrid SF and Rome 4th Round results all in a row this clay season.

...while the latest "addition" (Oksana S.) didn't provide much oomph to the España cause on Day 1, one from a short time back did today, as qualifier Kaitlin Quevedo made her slam MD debut, notching a 7-6(5)/7-6(2) win over Leolia Jeanjean for her maiden victory in a major.



The 20-year old improved to 13-4 this clay season with the win, which comes on the heels of a $75K title run and three straight three-set wins in the qualifying rounds. Quevedo is on a nine-match winning streak.

She avoided going three today, recovering from losing a 5-3 1st set lead to take an opening TB win after falling behind 5-4, then in a no-break 2nd set immediately seizing control of a second breaker and winning 7-2.

Quevedo is edging close to making her Top 100 debut. The current ESP #3, she has 21 wins on the season across all levels. The ESP #1 and #2 (Bucsa and Bouzas Maneiro) have *combined* for 17 this year.









...NO IDEA...... ON DAY 2:


...why the WTA social media presented Svitolina's comeback like this. A win from a set down, while *technically* a comeback victory, isn't really some monumental moment of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. I mean, she trailed 3-1 in the 3rd... why not present the comeback as a rally from *that* deficit?




...LET'S DANCE... ON DAY 2:




...ARE WE SURE THIS IS STILL AN IMPROVEMENT?... ON DAY 2:

After such praise a year ago in the first year of TNT's coverage of Roland Garros, the machine is back this year, but with an overreliance on too-much-yappin' behind a desk (aka "ESPN disease," additionally aka "when a Backspinner mutes the audio") rather than showing actual tennis matches. Meanwhile, the "whip-around" on TruTV is just an excuse for more yappin' from the McEnroe brothers as they try to be tennis' version of the Mannings on their Monday Night Football watch-and-talk show.

I mean, do we really need a courtside interview with Tiafoe on TNT, following just minutes later by a sitting-in-a-chair drop-in with Tiafoe on TruTV when, I don't know, a dozen or so matches are taking place around the grounds?

Meanwhile, late in the day, with two matches going on, both channels were showing, you guessed it, the same match.













Before the likes of Venus and Osaka had Barbie dolls made in their likeness, there was Lenglen...


















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Everyone wanted to talk about Juan Martin not being in the *greatest* shape (hey, he retired four years ago... and was *always* hurt, give him a break) in this exhibition. They were missing the point -- Simona was on a court with a racket! That's always a nice thing to see. Hmmm, maybe it's previewing a return to Wimbledon in the Invitational competition?















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*2026 FIRST CAREER SLAM MD WINS (w/ career slam MD)
-AUSTRALIAN OPEN (5)-
Nikola Bartunkova, CZE (1st)
Linda Klimovicova, POL (1st)
Petra Marcinko, CRO (1st)
Taylah Preston, AUS (3rd)
Oksana Selekhmeteva, RUS (5th)
-ROLAND GARROS (4 through Day 2)-
Susan Bandecchi, SUI (1st)
Marina Bassols Ribera, ESP (2nd)
Francesca Jones, GBR (7th)
Kaitlin Quevedo, ESP (1st)

*SLAM MD APPEARANCE STREAKS - MEXICO (since 1990)*
13 - Angelia Gavaldon, 1993 AO-1996 AO
10 - RENATA ZARAZUA, 2024 AO-current
5 - Angelica Gavaldon, 1990 AO-1991 AO





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TOP QUALIFIER: Claire Liu/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): x
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Oceane Dodin/FRA (PR) def. Kayla Day/USA 6-4/2-6/7-6(15-13) - saved 2 MP in TB, wins on MP #5
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): x
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #27 Marie Bouzkova/CZE (def. Bronzetti/ITA)
FIRST SEED OUT: #21 Clara Tauson/DEN (1r - lost to Snigur/UKR)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: 1r wins: Susan Bandecchi/SUI (1st MD), Marina Bassols Ribera/ESP (2nd MD), Francesca Jones/GBR (7th MD), Kaitlin Quevedo/ESP (1st MD)
UPSET QUEENS: x
REVELATION LADIES: x
NATION OF POOR SOULS: early nominee: FRA (none of 14 in Q-draw reach MD; are 0-5 through Day 2, French wild cards winless year after WC Boisson to SF
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: 1r wins: Susan Bandecchi/SUI, Marina Bassols Ribera/ESP, Maja Chwalinska/POL, Kaitlin Quevedo/ESP, Wang Xiyu/CHN
LUCKY LOSER WINS: --
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: 1r wins: x
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: 1r wins: Jil Teichmann/SUI
LAST PASTRY STANDING: 1r wins: 0-5 Day 1/2, 4 to play 1r
Ms./Mademoiselle OPPORTUNITY: x
IT "??": x
COMEBACK: x
CRASH & BURN: x
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF PARIS: Nominees: Baptiste (1r- saved 2 MP at 6-4 in 2nd set TB vs. Krejcikova; McNally (1r- trailed set and double-break 3-0 vs. Tomljanovic); F.Jones (1r- trailed Haddad Maia 6-1/4-2; gets maiden slam MD win); Snigur (1r- trailed Tauson set and 5-3, Tauson served 5-4); Svitolina (1r- trailed Bondar 3-1 in 3rd; avoided first 1r RG loss in 13 app.)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): x
Mademoiselle/Madame OF THE EVENING: --
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
Legion de Lenglen: 100th anniversary of Suzanne Lenglen's last "grand slam" titles (RG WS/WD/MX sweep) in 1926 (she'd retire after controversial Wimbledon withdrawal and join professional tour that summer)
Coupe LA PETIT TAUREAU: (award given on Henin's birthday, June 1)






All for Day 2. More tomorrow.
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