The French Open this year is over. Arguably, the biggest news was now who won, but who actually did not win. The biggest name is Rafael Nadal, who has undeniably earned his nickname as "The King of Clay," having dominated the clay surface like no other tennis player, man or woman, has ever dominated any surface before in the sport. Most impressively, Nadal had won 14 French Open titles, which is a record that, I feel it's safe to say, we will not see anybody break in our lifetime. Indeed, it's difficult to picture anybody ever breaking that record.
Nadal made a return to the terre batu of Roland-Garros, but he was knocked out in the first round by German Alexander Zverev, who himself managed to reach the Men's Final.
One other name before I talk about yesterday's final: Novak Djokovic. He had another injury that forced him to withdraw from even playing in the semifinal. In so doing, Djokovic lost his hold on the number one ranking, and lost his chance at winning another French Open, and thus adding to his already record 24 career Grand Slam titles.
So the Men's Final was between Alexander Zverev and young the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. Zverev was looking to win his first ever Grand Slam championship, while Alcaraz was aiming for his third ever Grand Slam title. In a tough and long match that went back and forth, Alcaraz survived and defeated 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2. He now has claimed his third ever Grand Slam title, adding to his 2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon titles. Despite not reaching the number one ranking, which belongs to this year's Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz sure seems to be the leading candidate among the young guns in tennis to take over from the "Big Three" in terms of dominating men's tennis. He has more than anyone else outside of Nadal and Djokovic, and has won the three Grand Slams on three different surfaces.
Impressive.
On the women's side, it was the Polish Iga Świątek who easily dispatched with Italian Jasmine Paolini, 6-2, 6-1. It was Świątek's fourth French Open title, and her fifth career Grand Slam overall (she won the French Open in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and won the US Open in 2022). By winning again at Roland-Garros, Świątek maintains her current number on ranking in women's tennis.
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