The French Open
Roland Garros Women’s Day 3

Iga Swiatek handed herself an early 22nd birthday present on Tuesday with a 6-4, 6-0 beatdown of Spain’s Cristina Busca to begin her French Open title defence in solid form.
The world No. 1 could become the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to successfully defend a Roland Garros title.
Swiatek came into the second major of the season with doubts on her fitness after skipping Rome to recover,
But the Pole silenced the doubters in 75 minutes.
Swiatek has won three of the past 11 Grand Slams as she takes a tighter grip on overall long-term superiority.
The three-time champion at the majors owns a 29-6 record this season; she has won 19 of her past 20 matches here.
““For sure first rounds are tricky, especially the first set,” she said. “I don’t remember playing in such windy conditions here, maybe three years ago.
“I needed to adjust to that and work on my footwork.
“But I’m happy that I broke through it, and I was able to play better in the second set.”
Fourth-seeded Rome champion Elena Rybakina quickly dispatched 16-year-old Czech qualifier Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-4, 6-2 as the youngster played in only her second main draw at a major.
2022 runner-up Coco Gauff needed a comeback to move safely through in her opener, defeating Spain’s Rebeka Masarova 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The American sixth seed eventually triumphed in a re-run of January’s Auckland final, which she also won.
Gauff now stands 13-2 in Grand Slam first-round matches.
Double Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, ranked 65th.
The seventh-seeded Tunisian winner won her 25th match on clay over the past two seasons, standing just behind Iga Swiatek in that statistical category.
“It wasn’t an easy round, for sure, but I tried my best to win in two sets,” Jabeur said.
“Obviously I’m trying to get back to my level 100 per cent (after injury); I think that will come match by match and by playing more matches.
“Every first round is very difficult in a Grand Slam.
“I was pretty stressed, I’ve got to say, but I was just trying to play my game. The most important thing for me was to feel healthy and to move well on the court.”
Rome finalist Anhelina Kalinina ran out of luck in Paris as the Ukrainian lost 6-2, 6-3 to French wild card Diane Perry.
Kalinina, the tournament No. 25, was seeded for the second time at a major.
Perry, ranked 79, earned an upset here a year ago when she beat holder Barbora Krejcikova in the first round.
The Czech who won the 2021 trophy suffered a first round exit here for the second straight edition as she was ousted 6-2, 6-4 by Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.
The seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion went down in 89 minutes with 32 unforced errors – more than twice as many as her opponent.
Teenaged Mirra Andreeva schooled a veteran twice her age in her career Grand Slam debut. defeating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-2, 6- 1 in less than an hour.

The youngster who qualified into the Paris field after reaching the Madrid fourth round is taking each match on its own, leaving the big-picture planning to her coaches.
“It feels amazing for me. I’m really excited that I managed to win this match after
passing the qualies draw.
“Of course, I’m really happy and I’m looking forward to playing the next round,” said the player who has not lost a set so far in four matches here.
“Last year I was here as a junior, I couldn’t even imagine that I can be here playing the women’s tournament here and being in a major after passing qualification.”
Main photo:- Iga Swiatek wins first round match by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
ATP
Serena Williams calls out Sinner ban

23 Time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams claims she would have received a 20 year ban if she had failed a drugs test similar to that which ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner received just a three month suspension in February 2025.
“I love the guy, love this game,” Williams, told Time magazine after being named one of its 100 most influential people.
“He’s great for the sport. I’ve been put down so much, I don’t want to bring anyone down. Men’s tennis needs him.
“(But) if I did that, I would have gotten 20 years. Let’s be honest. I would have gotten grand slams taken away from me.”
43 year old Williams retired in 2022 and joked that she took extra precautions to avoid any accidental ingestion of an illegal substance, and that a PED scandal would have landed her “in jail.”
“I miss it a lot, with all my heart. I miss it because I’m healthy,” Williams said. “If I couldn’t walk, or if I was so out of it, I wouldn’t miss it as much.”
Sinner’s suspension ends on May 4, having twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol in March 2024 and is expected to make his return to the tour at the Italian Open, in the ATP 1000 clay-court tournament in Rome beginning on May 5.
The Italian has always maintained his innocence, claiming the drug entered his system through a massage from his trainer.
ATP
See you in court: Players file suit against ATP

The ATP is facing a class-action lawsuit spearheaded by 12 players as Novak Djokovic’s union goes to war with the sanctioning body.
The Professional Tennis Players Association will drag tine ATP into the American legal process over what the PTPA labels as a “cartel”
Also included in the action are the women’s WTA, the Grand Slam umbrella body the International Tennis Federation and the sport’s antidoping bosses at the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
The 163-page complaint filed in New York is also being mooted in the EU and the UK, home of Wimbledon.
Complaints by players include issues such as prize money, the rankings system and schedule, the ITIA investigative practices and also complain about (mainly lower-ranking) players being deprived of ancillary and marketing income which they deserve.
With major stars of the game earning tens of millions per season – including sponsorship monies – the little people represented by the PTPA have been feeling left out for years.
The PTPA got its start in 2022 spearheaded by Canadian Vasek Popspil and former world No. 1 Djokovic.
The current lawsuit includes controversial Aussie Nick Kyrgios as a plaintiff, with the legal action seeking an American jury trial.
“Tennis is broken,” PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar said. “Behind the glamorous veneer that the Defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardizes their health and safety.
“We have exhausted all options for reform through dialogue, and the governing bodies have left us no choice but to seek accountability through the courts. Fixing these systemic failures isn’t about disrupting tennis – it’s about saving it for the generations of players and fans to come.”
The ATP has rejected the claims and said they are ready for a legal battle, saying the action “to be entirely without merit.”
“Throughout more than three decades, ATP’s 50-50 governance structure has ensured that players and tournaments have an equal voice in shaping the sport’s direction at the highest level.”
The sanctioning body points to a USD 70 million prize money and player payout revenue over the last five years, with the ATP suggesting it is taking care of minor players with its reforms.
The WTA also jumped in with a statement on the “misguided” lawsuit while antidoping also protested their innocence.
Pospisil said the battle for better pay has only begun, with accusations that the ATP and its partner tournament conspire to cap prize money to keep a larger share for themselves..
The PTPA also complained about playing conditions including extreme heat and 3 a.m. match finishes in front of near-empty stands – most notably at the US and Australian Opens, the major offenders.
The suit says tennis players receive only 17 percent of tournament revenues whereas in other sports – read gold – the split is closer to 35-50 percent.
“This is about fairness, safety, and basic human dignity,” Pospisil said in a statement.
“I’m one of the more fortunate players and I’ve still had to sleep in my car when travelling to matches early on in my career – imagine an NFL player being told that he had to sleep in his car at an away game.”
He added, “It’s absurd and would never happen, obviously. No other major sport treats its athletes this way. The governing bodies force us into unfair contracts, impose inhumane schedules, and punish us for speaking out.”
Main photo:- Executive Director Ahmad Nassar and Head of PTPA Global Services Tarik Koubaa – ©PTPA
ATP
Sinner cuts doping deal takes 3 months suspension

Jannik Sinner has agreed to a three month suspension from ATP play in a deal cut to end the doping saga which has engulfed the World No. 1 in recent months.
The Italian’s team dropped the news on Sunday.
In the agreement with the World Anti Doping Agency, Sinner acknowledged his partial responsibility for the errors made by his team.
He tested positive last season for a banned substance which entered his body after his ex-physio used a cream containing the substance to heal a cut on his own hands and then massaged the player.
The anti-doping body admitted that Sinner, did not derive any competitive advantage from the two positive tests for minimal traces of clostebol detected in his system.
“This case has been hanging over me now for nearly a year and the process still had a long time to run with a decision maybe only at the end of the year” he said in a statement.
“I’ve always accepted that I am responsible for my team and realise WADA’s strict rules are an important protection for the sport I love”
“On that basis I have accepted WADA’s offer to resolve these proceedings on the basis of a three month sanction”
While timings of the three month suspension were not released, if it begins in the next days it would me that Sinner could play Roland Garros which begins on 25th May.
Sinner will now miss Indian Wells and Miami Masters events next month in the US along with European clay masters dates in Monte Carlo and Madrid in April and Rome in early May.
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