It’s been a banner year already for Aryna Sabalenka. The big-hitting Belarussian claimed the biggest title of her career winning the first Grand Slam of the season at the Australian Open.

Earlier this month, she came up big in stunning Iga Swiatek to take the Madrid Masters.

While she was bounced in her Rome opener by Sofia Kenin, she comes into the French Open as a Grand Slam …

Daniil Medvedev revealed today during media day that the courts and balls at the French Open are playing much slower and heavier than last year, so arm and shoulder injuries could be on the upswing this year.

“I cannot say 100% if it’s the balls, the surface, maybe that it’s a little bit better,” Medvedev said Friday. “But from what I heard from all the players, everybody agrees that it’s, …

A year ago Carlos Alcaraz was just coming into his own. Now, the 20-year-old is seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam for a first time at the French Open which begins on Sunday.

For the youngster, he can’t believe he’s seeded No. 1.

“It’s still crazy to see myself in top 1 seed in a Grand Slam,” Alcaraz said. “But for me, at same time is great. Is something that …

Iga Swiatek brushed off any concerns over a thigh injury she suffered last week in a retirement to Elena Rybakina.

“Luckily nothing serious happened, so I had couple of days off,” Swiatek told the press on Friday at the French Open. “I’m still recovering from the thigh injury, but I’ll be good for my first round. That’s the most important thing for me.”

A year ago Swiatek went into the …

The big reveal from the French Open men’s draw which was released earlier today was that 2-time champion Novak Djokovic has landed on the same side as Carlos Alcaraz, setting up a potential semifinal showdown between the last two Grand Slam champions.

Djokovic, who just turned 36, has a lot at stake at the French Open. He’s bidding for a third title which would give him a third career Slam clearing …

World No. 1 and tournament favorite Iga Swiatek was handed a tough road in her French Open title defense.

The women’s draw was unveiled at Roland Garros a few hours ago, and the 2-time champion is projected to meet Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals in a rematch of their 2022 final with Elena Rybakina looming in the semifinals. Rybakina has won her last three against the Polish star including …

Despite an injury scare last week in Rome, Iga Swiatek is already at Roland Garros seeking a third title in four years, shrugging off right thigh concerns.

Swiatek goes in seeking a repeat at Roland Garros as the top seed for a fifth straight Grand Slam.

The world No. 1 will lead a fully-stocked (as of now) top 32 into the second Grand Slam of the season. While she’s the favorite, …

For the first time and likely not the last time, Carlos Alcaraz will be a top seed at a Grand Slam event.

Following his Rome Masters result, the 20-year-old jumped back to No. 1 this past Monday and will be the top seed at the French Open which begins on Sunday.

Alcaraz, who missed the Australian Open, comes in as the tournament favorite and winner of his last seven matches in …

I saw a lot of negative comments across the web about the two “expanded” Masters events that were just held back-to-back in Madrid and Rome.

This was the first year of the new plan to have some Masters tournaments expand to two weeks similar to Indian Wells and Miami. Of course these were the first to be played on clay, but that’s neither here nor there.

Much of the consternation was over …

Cameron Norrie returns to Lyon where he’s made the final the last two years winning in 2022 defeating Alex Molcan in the final.

The Brit is the second seed behind former finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime who is the top seed.

Both have struggled on the clay. Norrie just 4-4 these last two months while the Canadian lost in his first match at both Madrid and Rome.

Third seed Tommy Paul, a former French junior …

Several top players opted to get one last chance to fine tune their clay game in Geneva this week. Former French finalist Casper Ruud leads the field along with American No. 1 Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev.

Ruud comes in as a 2-time defending champion while Zverev won the title in 2019.

Top seeds are: 1 Casper Ruud, 2 Taylor Fritz, 3 Alexander Zverev, 4 Grigor Dimitrov, 5 Ben Shelton, 6 Tallon …

Daniil Medvedev picked a good time to claim his first career clay title rallying late to upended Holger Rune 7-5, 7-5 to win the Rome Masters title.

Medvedev hadn’t made a clay final since Barcelona in 2019, but this week showcased his improved movement on the slippery surface to collect his 6th career Masters …

After a mixed clay season, Andy Murray has opted out of the French Open. The 36-year-old Murray will focus on building his game for the all-important British grass season.

The former French semifinalist went 0-3 in three tour-level level events on dirt, but he did win the Aix En Provence challenger title earlier this month over Tommy Paul. He played five clay events losing first round in four of them including …

For the second time in three matches, Elena Rybakina didn’t have to finish a match at the Rome Masters. On Wednesday, the Wimbledon champion was given a retirement from Iga Swiatek in their quarterfinal. And yesterday in the final, it happened again as Ukrainian surprise Anhelina Kalinina had to retired down 6-4, 1-0 due to a left thigh injury.

The final was delayed several hours due to continued rain …

As if one isn’t enough, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) hit the already-suspended Simona Halep with another doping violation.

The ITIA announced that Halep has been caught with “irregularities in her Athlete Biological Passport”.

Already serving a suspension for Roxadustat dating back to the the US Open, the former No. 1 will now have to fight this additional charge.

Halep responded on Instagram.

“Since October 7, when I got charged by the ITIA, …