The US Open
Protest rocks Gauff match as Sabalenka flips the script
Coco Gauff ignored the 50-minute distraction of a climate protest in the stands at the US Open to defeat Karolina Muchova 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to book her second career Grand Slam final.
The 19-year-old will play for the trophy on Saturday against Aryna Sabalenka, who became only the third woman in the Open era to win a match after losing the opening set 0-6.
Sabalenka, who takes over the top WTA ranking on Monday, denied American Madison Keys in a 0-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (10-5) win.
Keys served for victory leading 5-4 in the second set but could not seal the deal; she went down in the tiebreaker as Sabalenka stayed in the fight.
Keys lost a break in the third set and saved two match points in the match tiebreak which closes out Grand Slam final sets before sending a return to lose after just over two and a half hours.
“I was all over the place (in the first set), Sabalenka said. “I’m just happy I was able to stay focused and finish.
“I don’t know how I won, she played incredible tennis.But somehow I turned around the match and won it.
“Being in this final means a lot to me, the reigning Australian Open champion said.
“In the final against Coco, I know most of the crowd will be for her.
“But I will go and do all I can, I’ll be fighting for every point, I will do my best.”
The Gauff match was interrupted with the American leading a set and 1-0.
Four protestors began shouting in the upper reaches of the vast arena with three being eventually led away by police while the other glued his bare feet to the cement floor.
Finally extracting him took up most of the time, while the befuddled players left the court.
The tournament explained the incident later: “Three of the four protesters were escorted out of the stadium without further incident.
“The fourth protester affixed their bare feet to the floor of the seating bowl. Due to the nature of this action, NYPD and medical personnel were needed in order to safely remove this individual from the stadium.
“The four protesters were taken into NYPD custody.”
Gauff came back out to repeat her victory of last month in the Cincinnati final against the Roland Garros runner-up, advancing to the final on her sixth match point – preceded by a 40-shot rally.
The final will be the second for the Floridian after losing the French Open title match last season to Iga Swiatek.
“I grew up watching this event,” the winner said. “it means a lot to be in the final.
“There’s a lot to celebrate but the job is not done yet. I hope you fans back me on Saturday (final).
“It was a tough match… I had leads, lost it. Serving for it. It (brought) a lot of emotional challenges.
“But I think I did a good job of staying focused. I’m just really proud of myself today.”
The winner said the protest delay was difficult to deal with.
“We didn’t know how long it was going to take. The supervisor and security said it could be as quick as five minutes or as long as an hour.
“It was tough to figure out if we stay warm or conserve energy.
“But it’s life. It happens. So I just tried my best to keep the momentum that I had going from winning the first set and the first game.”
Gauff won her 11th straight match, her longest career win streak.
She becomes the youngest American woman to make the Open semi-finals since Serena Williams nearly a quarter of a century ago.
The peace talks came after a Friday interview boycott by most top players, who limited their pre-event interactions with media to 15 minutes while snubbing TV broadcasters.
Players are asking for a larger share of Grand Slam prize money, aiming for a rise from 15 to 22 per cent, a figure well below payouts in other spots.
French federation (FFT) officials promised a response to the demands in the immediate future. Confrontations with Wimbledon and the US Open are also likely to proceed during the Paris fortnight.
The Australian Open has already sided with the players when the issue first arose earlier this season.
The FFT “has committed to responding to the players’ proposals in the coming weeks,” the ruling body said.
Players are seeking a closer involvement in the big decisions of the sport along with increased health insurance and retirement benefits.
Sinner, with USD 56 million already in career prize money at age 24, might do well to follow the example of retired icon Roger Federer, who earned 130 million on court and much more off it,
The Swiss, reportedly now a tennis billionaire, often said he would not be needing his ATP pension but was happy to work on behalf of other players.
Emma Raducanu has gone back to the future with her latest choice of coach, choosing to re-group with the mentor who helped her to a US Open title five long years ago.
The Briton whose career has been a patchwork of changing coaches and near-constant injuries and illness since her 2021 big day in New York, revealed she has re-employed Andrew Richardson, her OG coach.
The pair split not long after then-teenaged Raducanu won the Open title from an unprecedented qualifying start.
She has since struggled and wil head to Roland Garros from next Sunday with only one clay tournament, a late wild-card entry into Strasbourg.
“Grateful to have reconnected with someone who has known me for over a decade now and looking forward to building together one iteration at a time,” she posted on social media.
The WTA no. 30 has played just 15 matches this season – none on clay – with her last one more than two months ago.
Main photo:- Emma Raducanu with her coach, Andrew Richardson at the 2021 US Open
Wimbledon will bow to the high-tech future by introducing limited electronic reviews of line calls on major courts at the Championships, the club revealed on Saturday.
The All England Club will allow the technology on showcourts including Centre Court, No. 1 and four others. During controversial moments, competitors will be allowed to ask the chair umpire for a review of the point in question.
The wizardry is coming late to Wimbledon having been used at the US Open since 2023 and later adapted by the Australian Open. Roland Garros relies on marks in its clay surface to determine line calls.
Under the rules, players can ask for the review any number of times, with electronic line-calling now in effect at the grass-court major for a second year after the 2025 elimination of human line judges.
Roland Garros 2026 Men’s Day 10
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