French Open 2025: Raducanu v Swiatek, Sabalenka and Alcaraz in action on day four | French Open 2025
Key events
Cheers on Simonne Mathieu, where Musetti has a set point after 25-shot rally. The Italian is serving at his advantage. He jumps into a forehand, flicks a beautiful one-handed backhand (there aren’t too many 23-year-olds with one of those these days) … but then he nets. And curses. Deuce. Musetti goes back behind Galan to bring up another set point. And this time he emphatically puts away the smash to secure the opener 6-4.
Mboko will likely face Zheng in the third round if she advances. Zheng has the first set in the bag, 6-2, against Arango.
Mboko nervelessly moves to 15-0, 30-0. But Lys then has the teenager scampering left and right and left and right and Mboko hits wide. Mboko is slumped over when she batters a backhand into the net. 30-all. But she regroups to bring up set point, and a netted return means she takes the opener 6-4!
Well worth a mention is the 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, whom the WTA website describes as the “teenager who won’t stop winning”. The Canadian, whose parents emigrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo before she was born, started the year ranked No 333, but after racking up a record of 38 wins and only five losses in 2025, she’s up to 120 in the world and came through qualifying in Paris. And here she is, serving for the first set at 5-4 against Germany’s Eva Lys.
Jasmine Paolini, who opens the day’s schedule on Chatrier in about half an hour’s time, has been practising on the court – and seeking some inspiration from Rafa.
Anisimova has a set point, leading 5-0 and 30-40 on Golubic’s serve. And an errant forehand from Golubic concedes the set. Victoria Azarenka served up an early double bagel yesterday; we could have another this morning.
As for Zheng Qinwen, the last woman to win at Roland Garros, having claimed the Olympic singles title last summer, she’s 2-1 up on serve against Emiliana Arango, the 24-year-old Colombian. And Lorenzo Musetti, the Italian 8th seed who’s in fine form on the clay, he’s got himself an early break and leads another Colombian, the lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan, 3-2.
Amanda Anisimova isn’t messing around, leading Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 4-0. The American 16th seed came within a few games of reaching the French Open final as a 17-year-old in 2019. She’s not been that deep in a grand slam since – and is wildly inconsistent – but on her day is capable of pulling off some results; her victories over Andreeva, Navarro, Ostapenko and Badosa this year are evidence of that.
Ons Jabeur, who lost in the first round yesterday, has called out organisers for not scheduling women’s matches in the night slot, saying: “I don’t think they have daughters.” Last year all 11 prime-time matches featured men, and that’s been the case too for the first four days of this year’s tournament – tonight 12th seed Holger Rune will face the American world No 137 Emilio Nava – so it’s hardly the contest of the day. Why couldn’t, say, Swiatek and Raducanu have played their match this evening? What’s more baffling about the French Open’s stance is that Amelie Mauresmo – who does have a daughter – is the tournament director. You’d think she’d be more keen to promote the women’s game.
The players are out on another overcast day in Paris, so expect heavy conditions again. Among the early starters: the Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, the red-hot Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the Canadian teenage winning machine Victoria Mboko, the French Open giantkiller Daniel Altmaier, the American former semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova, the Australian 25th seed Alexei Popyrin and Argentina’s clay-court slugger Francisco Cerundolo.
Meanwhile on TNT Sports, Chrissie Evert, Tim Henman, Laura Robson and Anne Keothavong have some important business to discuss: Nike’s 2025 French Open rugby vibe vs Adidas’s neon highlighter tops. Doesn’t sound as if they’re massively impressed with either tbh.
Play didn’t finish until past midnight as Gael Monfils treated his home crowd to a comeback from two sets to love down, with the 38-year-old eventually seeing off Bolivia’s Hugo Dellien 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-1 – despite crashing into the advertising boards during the first set and needing a medical timeout for treatment to his hand, knee and back. The 2008 semi-finalist will face Jack Draper next. Ever the showman, there were so many highlights last night, but here’s one of them:
Before we get going, here’s what happened yesterday:
Today’s order of play on the main courts
Court Philippe Chatrier (12pm start/11am BST)
4-Jasmine Paolini (Italy) v Ajla Tomljanovic (Australia)
Fabian Marozsan (Hungary) v 2-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
Emma Raducanu (Britain) v 5-Iga Swiatek (Poland)
Emilio Nava (US) v 10-Holger Rune (Denmark)
Court Suzanne Lenglen (11am/10am BST)
Emiliana Arango (Colombia) v 8-Zheng Qinwen
7-Casper Ruud (Norway) v Nuno Borges (Portugal)
31-Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France) v Damir Dzumhur (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Jil Teichmann (Switzerland)
Court Simonne Mathieu (11am/10am BST)
8-Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) v Daniel Elahi Galan (Colombia)
Anna Bondar (Hungary) v 13-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine)
Matteo Gigante (Italy) v 20-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
12-Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) v Iva Jovic (US)
Preamble
Bonjour mesdames et messieurs! Pour votre plaisir aujourd’hui: defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, who faces Emma Raducanu in the second round; the title favourite Aryna Sabalenka; former runners-up Jasmine Paolini, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas; the in-form Lorenzo Musetti and Zheng Qinwen, who both deserve at least a mention in the title conversation; 2017 champ Jelena Ostapenko; honorary Frenchwoman Elina Svitolina; plus Elena Rybakina, Holger Rune and Daniel Altmaier, who took out Taylor Fritz in the first round, but there are still plenty of Americans in Paris today, including Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Amanda Anisimova and Danielle Collins.
D’accord? Tres bien! L’action commence: 11h à Paris/10am BST.
