The French Open had plenty of exciting storylines to follow, with the women’s bracket showing up and showing out. Just Women’s Sports has three takeaways from Roland-Garros as attention shifts away from clay and towards the grass.

Coco Gauff has arrived

Coco Gauff advanced to her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros, capping off a month in which she also graduated high school.

She also appears to have graduated to another level of play.

In the singles bracket, Gauff didn’t drop a set en route to the championship match. Her only stumbling block was Swiatek, who sits No. 1 in the world and is on a 35-match winning streak. Since her finals loss, Gauff has risen 10 spots in the world rankings to a career-high No. 13.

“I feel like throughout my career, and even in juniors, the reason I had success so early is that I was able to see that level and then go back and practice and try to reach that level,” Gauff said after the final singles match.

“Now that I have seen the level, this level of No.1 and 35 matches [won in a row], I know what I have to do,” she said. “I’m sure I’m going to play her in another final and hopefully it’s a different result.”

Admittedly, Gauff’s mindset around the big matches has changed, which she says is a big contributor to her success. She handled her first major final like a pro.

“In the match it probably looked like I was freaking out, but really it was just Iga was too good,” Gauff said. “I wasn’t freaking out. So I think the moment, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I was going to be.”

Can anyone stop Iga Swiatek?

Entering the French Open, there was no question about Iga Swiatek’s dominance since she ascended to the world No. 1 ranking. En route to her second title in three years at Roland Garros, Swiatek dropped just one set.

While there was no doubt that she would keep her current ranking, she’s only solidified her grip on No. 1. With 8,631 points, she has a 4,305-point lead on second-ranked Anett Kontaveit.

With a 35-match winning streak, Swiatek has bested Serena Williams and tied with Venus Williams for the longest streak since 2000. The Polish player will forever have her name etched into the history books.

The only question that remains is what could have happened if the Swiatek of right now had the chance to go up against Ash Barty, who retired after her dominant Australian Open win.

“I do,” Swiatek told the Guardian when asked if she wished she could play Barty right now. “I was thinking about that yesterday. I would love to be in a better shape than I was when I was playing against her, just have more variety and more abilities and to win against Ash. That would be great.”

The women deserve more respect

French Open director Amelie Mauresmo made headlines when she said that women’s tennis has less “appeal” than men’s tennis in attempting to defend the decision to schedule just one women’s match across 10 night sessions.

Following criticism from both fans and players, Mauresmo walked her comments back, apologizing to the players and saying that she was taken out of context. She said on the Tennis Channel that it was about whether or not it was “fair to ticketholders” to put a three-set women’s match in the night spot versus a five-set men’s match.

“I feel that it’s really tougher to schedule a women’s match because we have to take into consideration the length [of the matches],” she said, adding that next year they may look into having two matches at night “or maybe a women’s match plus a doubles match.”

On average, best-of-three matches last 90 minutes, while best-of-five matches can last around 2 hours and 45 minutes. But questions about the length of men’s matches – and whether or not they’re too long – have also risen. The night match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic went until past 1 a.m. – long after public transportation had stopped running.

Meanwhile, the women’s bracket had Swiatek – who wasn’t awarded a night match – and her winning streak. Gauff and her incredible run. Some high-profile upsets – including Amanda Anisimova over Naomi Osaka in the first round.

No matter the length of the matches, the women seemed ready for prime time.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.