French Open Page 8 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Emma Raducanu pulls off the other type of unrepeatable triumph
It’s funny, if not remarkable: during a tournament that was mostly about a once-in-a-lifetime achievement before it began, another type of a once-in-a-lifetime achievement has stolen the headlines. While Novak Djokovic goes for the first calendar grand slam in decades later today, and tries to take ...
No one wants Novak Djokovic to be the best player ever, but he might be
When discussing tennis history, people’s tastes will always influence and muddy debates about who’s what and the places they hold. Because it’s an individual sport that incorporates so many styles among its players that what one individual prefers watching will always make them lean in one direction...
Novak Djokovic is loud
These primal athlete screams hit different with no fans....
Rafael Nadal wins Rafael Nadal Open for 13th time
There was a thought, maybe even a hope, from a minority that just wanted to see some variety, that the different setting and conditions for this year’s French Open would make things too difficult for Rafael Nadal. Or maybe just more difficult. Or maybe even slightly difficult....
Serena Williams may not win the Grand Slam record, and that sucks
It has been three years since Serena Williams held up a Grand Slam trophy in victory. ...
Martina Navratilova talks COVID and the French Open with Deadspin
Prior to the start of the French Open, Deadspin’s Julie DiCaro and Jane McManus sat down with tennis icon Martina Navratilova about a wide range of issues, including social and racial justice, the U.S. and French Opens, and whether America should even playing sports in the midst of a global pandemic...
Paris still set to host French Open as COVID-19 spikes in Europe
After postponing the French Open in March due to coronavirus, the red clay is ready for competitors. The Open starts on Sunday, albeit in the midst of a European second wave and without some star athletes — who have opted out of the tournament....
Tennis Has A Coronavirus Problem And You Can Be Certain The Solution Will Make Everyone Miserable
While tennis will always be regarded as an upper-echelon pursuit, full of soft applause and a pastoral attitude as the fans stroke their beards, cluck their tongues, and wonder what’s to be done with the rabble outside the walls, in reality, it’s always a gentle breeze away some kind of disagreement...
Massages, Five-Star Hotels, Porsches, And... Mayo-Slathered Sushi?: Tennis Writers Reveal Best (And Worst) Tournament Perks
As a rube who has only ever covered one tennis tournament—the U.S. Open (once in 2017 and once this year)—I was blown away by the perks given to credentialed media: $25 per diem to spend on food around the grounds or in the media cafeteria! Great seats! Free parking! Shuttles to and from the hotels!...
Dominic Thiem Got Closer, But Rafael Nadal Still Stepped On Him
Last year, in the first major final of his life, Dominic Thiem just seemed happy to be there. Flattened by a Rafael Nadal charging toward his 11th French Open title? That builds character. A dusty tennis great heartlessly roasting you at the trophy ceremony? Whatever, no shame in being outmatched....
Rafael Nadal Is Tennis Jail
“If you want to do or achieve something on the clay, inevitably, at some stage, you will go through Rafa,” Roger Federer said after his French Open quarterfinal, “because he’s that strong, and he will be there.”...
American Teen Amanda Anisimova's Singular Backhand Tore Up The Defending French Open Champ
Amanda Anisimova has a good backhand, so good as to foreclose any technical critique from the peanut gallery. She’s 17 years old and it has already been described by tennis commentators, perhaps accurately, as the best backhand on tour, and, hyperbolically, as the best of all time. I’ll leave those ...
What The Hell Are These Questions From The French Open Pressers?
Today at the French Open, No. 7 seed Sloane Stephens lost her quarterfinal match. She went to press after, only to field this question, as noted by tennis writer Ben Rothenberg:...
The Greatest Tennis Match Of The Year Was A Filthy, Hectic War
Forget the semifinals, the finals, or the shiny trophy ceremonies. The sweetest spot of a tennis major is the first weekend....
WTA Clarifies Rules, Clears The Way For Serena Williams's Catsuit And Leggings Of All Kinds
After being, uh, unsettled by Serena Williams’s “catsuit” at the 2018 French Open, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli promised stricter apparel rules the following year, though not as austere as Wimbledon’s all-white mandate. But whatever he’s looking to do to eliminate his catsui...
Did Serena Williams's French Open Catsuit Make The French Tennis Federation President Too Horny?
One day, perhaps, female athletes will be able to compete without people scrutinizing their appearance and policing their bodies. Today is not that day. As the Associated Press first reported, Serena Williams, the greatest tennis player of all time who should be able to wear whatever she damn well p...
These Two Points Adequately Represent Rafael Nadal's Ridiculous Clay Season
Rafael Nadal won the French Open on Sunday, and there’s little new to say that wasn’t already said after last year’s title. After the preposterousness of 10, 11 doesn’t feel so different. But even into the double-digits, it’s worth remembering that the points are fucking absurd....
Simona Halep Won The French Open By Remembering How She Lost It
Simona Halep, by age 26—something like the physical prime in modern tennis—had it all, almost. There was still a void at the center of everything. It wasn’t money: She’s made over $26 million in her career and played this French Open in full swoosh gear, hinting at a recent off-court windfall. It wa...
Dominic Thiem Owned By Rafael Nadal In French Open Final, Owned Again During Trophy Presentation
If you missed the men’s French Open final yesterday, you missed three quick sets of Rafael Nadal being Rafael Nadal and winning his 11th French Open trophy. But you also missed the trophy presenter, former Grand Slam winner Ken Rosewall, providing some unusually honest, slightly unfair analysis of N...
Rafael Nadal's French Open Is A Confrontation With His Only Real Threat
Dominic Thiem and Rafael Nadal will play each other in the French Open final on Sunday. Only one outcome has ever resulted from a French Open final involving Rafa. For a reality check, pinch yourself and say aloud, “Rafael Nadal has won 10 French Opens.” There is only the slimmest chance that Thiem ...