For the world No. 1, the dream of a first French Open title lives on.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has reached the quarterfinals of the French Open and can continue to dream of her first triumph on the Seine. In the first women’s match in the night session since 2023, the four-time Grand Slam champion prevailed 7-5, 6-3 on Court Philippe-Chatrier against fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan. Since the introduction of the primetime match five years ago, this was only the fifth clash between two female tennis players during prime time.
“It’s just great to play in front of all of you during the night session,” said Sabalenka, who, after the match, performed Michael Jackson’s legendary moonwalk on the clay to the sounds of “Thriller” and was loudly cheered by the fans.
Sabalenka advanced to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros for the fourth time in a row. Now she faces Diana Schnaider, who defeated American Madison Keys 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Last year, Sabalenka stormed all the way to the final but then lost to Coco Gauff. Meanwhile, Osaka, who once again took the court in a glittering gold outfit, missed out on her first-ever spot in the quarterfinals.
Sabalenka marches on in Paris
The few evening matches for women at the clay-court highlight consistently spark debate and criticism. In the past two years, the organizers had completely avoided scheduling women’s matches in the night session.
“The organizers are afraid that a women’s match will be over in an hour,” Eurosport expert Boris Becker had said, referring to the fact that women’s matches are won in just two sets. In men’s tennis, three sets are required to win. In the end, Sabalenka and Osaka—who had defeated Germany’s number one, Laura Siegemund, in the first round—faced off for 87 minutes.