Aryna Sabalenka showed nerves of steel and champion's resolve to defeat Elena Rybakina in their Berlin Open quarter-final on Friday, saving four match points in the final-set tiebreak.
13 of the men's seeds fell at the first hurdle -- a Wimbledon record since 32 seeds were introduced in 2001.
At an oven-like Centre Court where the temperature climbed to 30 degrees Celsius, Sabalenka twice rushed to the aid of ill fans by supplying bottles of cold water and an ice pack, before she cracked under pressure from her opponent in the 10th game.
As the 2025 French Open looms, all eyes may be on reigning champions and top seeds - but lurking just beneath the surface are several players quietly building momentum, ready to crash the party in Paris. From seasoned champions finding renewed form to rising stars with something to prove, here are four dark horses who could shake up the women's singles draw at Roland Garros.
IMAGES from the French Open at Roland Garros, in Paris, France, on Wednesday.
Sabalenka, Keys reach Wimbledon third round with contrasting victories.
Struggling Swiatek will open her campaign against Slovakian Rebecca Sramkova.
Poland's Iga Swiatek could become only the third woman since tennis turned professional in 1968 to win all of her first six major finals, joining Margaret Court and Monica Seles, but Swiatek is not taking the big-hitting Anisimova lightly.
Coco Gauff forgot to bring her rackets to the court but reminded her rivals of her French Open title ambitions with a commanding win while Daniil Medvedev lost his composure on a cold and blustery Tuesday as he crashed out in the opening round.
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Sabalenka looked bemused when an out call went against her to give Belgian Mertens the first service break and a 4-3 lead in the opening set of their quarter-final, and a check by umpire Miriam Bley confirmed the call.
Electronic line calling systems were also affected by the power cut, the ATP said, while spectators shared pictures of dark hallways at the Manzanares Park Tennis Center.
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Poland's Swiatek, who has dropped to fifth in the world rankings, has so far failed to win a title this year despite a few deep runs in tournaments, including the Australian Open semi-finals.
Jasmine Paolini's exit means only one of the top five women's seeds -- world number one Aryna Sabalenka -- will be in the third round. It is only the second time that this has happened in the professional era after Wimbledon 2018.
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Versatility is essential and it has come to the fore for Sabalenka in recent tournaments, where she has used not just her brutal strength to put opponents on the back foot but also applied a touch of finesse to leave them wrong-footed.
Iga Swiatek arrives at Roland Garros this month under a cloud of uncertainty, with the Pole enduring one of the toughest stretches of her career just before the defence of her French Open title.
'I guess it'll force me to read books more, be more of a productive human probably.'
Four-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who is gearing up to defend the French Open title later this month, fired off 24 winners in a strong performance to seal victory.
Coco Gauff was given a solid workout by former champion Sofia Kenin but continued her lengthy winning streak
Medvedev outlasts Zverev to reach Halle final
Images from Day 10 of the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday.
World number one Jannik Sinner defeated record-chasing Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) in a clash of generations on Friday to set up a blockbuster French Open final showdown with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka reached the last 16 at the Miami Open when Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired injured on Saturday, while men's top seed Alexander Zverev beat Jacob Fearnley 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round.
Images from Day 8 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Carlos Alcaraz kept his Indian Wells 'three-peat' campaign on track with a straight sets win against Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the third round.
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Fonseca cruised through the first set before Fearnley found his groove in the second to level the match on a windy day in the California desert.
Serena Williams showed glimpses of what lies in store for rivals this season
Gauff will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19,
Dimitrov was showing signs of fatigue from his three-hour third-round match earlier in the week and could do little to stop the Spanish world number three, who next faces Argentine Francisco Cerundolo.
Nagal's career maintained an upward spike when he became the 10th player from India to break into top 100 in ATP rankings.
Top seed Sabalenka proved to be at another level, though, racking up 32 winners for the match to leave Badosa chasing shadows under the lights at Rod Laver Arena.
Heading into the final, Gauff had lost the first set in three straight matches and the former U.S. Open champion seemed determined to buck that trend, serving to love in the opening game and breaking early for a 2-0 lead.
Gauff split from coach Brad Gilbert and flipped the script weeks later, however, winning her second WTA 1000 title last month at the China Open before reaching the Wuhan Open semis.
Coco Gauff fought back from a set down to beat Spain's Paula Badosa 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing on Saturday.
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