Welcome to Take Five, a weekly series at USOpen.org recapping five of the biggest stories of the last week on the professional tennis circuit. Sunday saw the conclusion of Roland Garros, often referred to as the French Open, the year’s second major and the only one of four contested on clay. Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek, Casper Ruud and others broke new ground and made headlines.
Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek phenomenal in France
How many times has Rafael Nadal made history?
There’s probably no way to quantify that. But on Sunday the 36-year-old Spaniard extended his already eye-popping records of French Open titles to 14 and overall Grand Slam wins to 22.
With his latest tournament victory, Nadal also inched up the rankings: He’s now the world No. 4 men’s singles player.
“For me personally, it is very tough to describe the feelings that I have—it’s something I never believed I would be here at 36 being competitive, one more final,” Nadal said during his victory speech. “It means everything to keep going.”
Meanwhile, Poland’s Iga Swiatek continues to burn through the women’s field. She earned her second Roland Garros title (and second major) on Sunday by defeating American Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Swiatek’s seasonal streak now stands at 35, tying Venus Williams for most consecutive match wins this century.
Swiatek previously lifted the trophy in Paris in 2020, when Roland Garros was rescheduled to October during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her second career major title is her sixth trophy won in a row this year. She hasn't lost a match since February.
Coco Gauff a singles, doubles finalist
She’s been hailed as the future of American tennis for the last few years, but 18-year-old Coco Gauff showed the world her time is now at the 2022 French Open.
During the past two weeks, Gauff graduated high school, spoke eloquently about social issues following her semifinal win, and advanced to both the singles and doubles finals – the latter alongside compatriot Jessica Pegula, who cracked the singles Top-Ten rankings Monday following her French Open quarterfinal run.
The rankings also saw Gauff jump ten spots to world No. 13, a personal best. Gauff joins Pegula (No. 8), Danielle Collins (No. 9), Madison Keys (No. 23), and Amanda Anisimova (No. 25) as one-fifth of the WTA’s Top-25 singles players.
Casper Ruud makes history for Norway
Speaking of history: Norway’s 23-year-old Casper Ruud had broken a number of national records prior to Sunday’s French Open final. Among other notable achievements, he was the first Norwegian man to win an ATP title (the 2020 Argentina Open), the first to reach a Masters 1000 final (losing to Carlos Alcaraz at this year’s Miami Open), and the first to crack the Top-10 in rankings.
Yesterday, Ruud became the first Norwegian man to reach a major final. The eighth seed faced stiff competition on his way to the final, from France’s former world No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his opener to Croatia’s former world No. 3 Marin Cilic in his semifinal. Though Ruud couldn’t overcome The King of Clay – with whom he had practiced in recent years during training at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca, Spain – Ruud managed to find some humor in defeat.
“I am just another one of his victims that he has destroyed on this court in the final,” Ruud said during his press conference.
Ruud, Alcaraz, others represent “next-gen” at Roland Garros
The term “next-generation” has been thrown around the last few years, as the “Big Three” guards of men’s tennis (Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Nadal, all of whom own 20-plus major titles) have gotten older and – supposedly – closer to retirement. Regardless of age, the three continue to dominate: Since 2003, they have won 62 of the last 77 contested tournaments.
Who will be the next player to win multiple Grand Slams, and consistently lead the men's singles rankings?
Only two male players born after 1990 have earned major singles titles: Austria’s 28-year-old Dominic Thiem won the 2020 US Open, while Russia’s 26-year-old Daniil Medvedev took the trophy at the same tournament in 2021.
Ruud’s performance at this year’s French Open makes the Norwegian a contender, but other players proved themselves these last two weeks. Top-Ten stars Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, just 19 years old, and Germany’s 25-year-old Alexander Zverev clashed in a dramatic, four-set quarterfinal. Zverev advanced, but suffered a serious ankle injury during his semifinal against Nadal. World No. 2 Medvedev lost in the fourth round, as did Greece’s 23-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas, the current world No. 5.
France takes women’s doubles, Dutch players win big
Doubles saw some familiar winners, led by the host country’s women’s pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Garcia and Mladenovic defeated Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 for a second and ninth Grand Slam title, respectively.
In men’s doubles, El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and France’s Jean-Julien Rojer beat Croatian Ivan Dodig and American Austin Krajicek, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-3. Japan’s Ena Shibahara and the Netherlands' Wesley Koolhof won mixed doubles.
Japan’s Shingo Kunieda won wheelchair men’s singles, solidifying his world No. 1 status and earning his 27th Grand Slam title. The Netherlands’ Diede De Groot, also world No. 1, earned her 26th Grand Slam title in wheelchair women’s singles.
