The French Open semifinals will feature a familiar battle, with Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek set to square off on Thursday. 

Gauff mounted a comeback win against Ons Jabeur in this morning's quarterfinal match, winning 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, while Swiatek easily took care of Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"She was playing really well the whole match. She was hitting a lot of winners on me, which is something I'm not used to against anybody," Gauff said after the match. "So today I was just trying to just be aggressive toward the end.

"[Ons Jabeur] is a tough opponent and she's well loved on tour," she added. "I could tell by the crowd today — I know you guys wanted her to win. Honestly, whenever she's not playing [me], I cheer for her, too.”

It's Gauff's third semi in three consecutive majors, with Gauff and Swiatek the only two active players under 26 with more than two Grand Slam semifinals under their belts.

Gauff and Swiatek have met at the French Open before, having most recently faced each other in the tournament's 2022 final. But Swiatek has took 10 out of 11 matches against Gauff — including a 6-4, 6-3 win in the semifinals of the Italian Open last month.

"Coco is not easy. She really likes playing on clay, especially here," Swiatek told ESPN after today's quarterfinals. "I'll just focus on myself and I'll prepare tactically and we'll see."

For her part, Swiatek is looking for her fourth French Open title and fifth Grand Slam overall.

Some have started calling the 23-year-old the "Queen of Clay" — a moniker she hasn't been quick to embrace.

"I think it is too early for me… Comparing me to [Rafael Nadal], I don't think I am at that level yet. I still have many things to prove," Swiatek said late last month.

There's been no shortage of drama at the 2024 French Open so far, with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka giving world No. 1 Iga Swiatek a run for her money in Wednesday's second-round match. 

Osaka looked every bit the former No. 1 that she is, despite the clay court not being her favored surface. After losing the first set to Swiatek in a tiebreak, Osaka took the second set 6-1. But up 5-2 in the third, Osaka could only watch as Swiatek fought back for a 7-5 set win to take the match.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

"For sure, this match was really intense. Much more intense for the second round than I ever expected. For sure, I'll be more ready next time," Swiatek said after the match. "Naomi played amazing tennis... I'm happy that she's back and she's playing well."

The victory extends Swiatek’s Roland Garros winning streak to 16 matches. The two-time defending champion is looking for her third-straight trophy — and fourth overall — at the major. 

For Osaka, the battle was an indicator of what might be in store for the rest of the year as she continues to make her way back from maternity leave. After all, she had match point at 5-3 in the third set before missing a couple of backhands that Swiatek swiftly converted for a break point. 

"I cried when I got off the court, but then, you know, for me, I kind of realize I was watching Iga win this tournament last year, and I was pregnant. It was just my dream to be able to play her," Osaka told reporters in a postmatch press conference. "When I kind of think of it like that, I think I'm doing pretty well. And I'm also just trying not to be too hard on myself. I feel like I played her on her better surface. I'm a hard-court kid, so I would love to play her on my surface and see what happens."

It was Osaka’s best match in years, with some of her serves reaching 122 MPH. She won 92 of the 139 points that lasted four or less strokes, and finished with a 54-37 advantage on winners. 

But even as Osaka looked more and more like her old self, it wasn’t enough to overcome the world No. 1. Swiatek’s bid to become the first woman to win three French Open championships in a row since 2009 continues. 

Elsewhere, Coco Gauff easily handled Tamara Zidansek in straight sets in her own second round match, while Sofia Kenin and Ons Jabeur also advanced to the third round.

The 2024 French Open starts on Sunday, with a match schedule that promises to wrap the short clay court season up in style.

Looking for her fourth title at the major is three-time Roland Garros champion and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, considered the favorite to win the whole Slam. Three of her four major titles have come at the French tournament. 

Swiatek's career record at the French Open is a dominating 28-2, and she's currently on a 16-game winning streak fueled by victories at tune-up tournaments in Madrid and Rome.

But that doesn't mean she won't face some serious challengers along the way. Get to know some of the Polish tennis champ's strongest competitors.

Aryna Sabalenka

Sabalenka is ranked No. 2 in the world and faced Swiatek in the finals at both Madrid and Rome. She lost in three sets in Madrid, which included a close third-set tiebreak, before losing in straight sets at the Italian Open. 

She enters the French Open having won the Australian Open in January, successfully defending her title in the first Slam of the season. At last year’s French Open, Sabalenka reached the semifinals — a career best — before being ousted by Karolina Muchová in three sets.

Season record: 25-7

Coco Gauff

Currently sitting at No. 3 in the world, the highest-ranked American on the schedule is none other than Coco Gauff. Gauff won her first major at the US Open last year, and reached the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open. She faced Swiatek in the semifinals of the Italian Open last week, losing in straight sets. 

But her first major final came at the French Open in 2022, before being ousted by Swiatek in the quarterfinals at last year’s French Open. The two are on a crash course for a meeting before the finals, as Gauff anchors the other quadrant on Swiatek’s side of the draw, should they both advance deep into the competition.

Season record: 25-8

A tennis player once again topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid female athletes, with Iga Swiatek taking over the top spot.

She becomes just the fourth athlete to top the list after Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova. Both Williams and Osaka had maintained a hold on the list in recent years, with Osaka taking the top spot in 2022. But Williams has retired and Osaka sat out the 2023 season to have her first child, leaving the top spot for Swiatek.

The 22-year-old Polish tennis player brought in an estimated $23.9 million in 2023, which included $9.9 million in on-court earnings after winning the women’s singles title at the French Open. She also added four new endorsement deals.

Twelve of the 20 highest-paid women athletes play tennis, as well as nine of the top 10. Eileen Gu, who came in second on the list, is the only non-tennis player to feature inside the top 10. She made $22.1 million in 2023, with the majority of her earnings coming from endorsements.

Coco Gauff, who won the 2023 US Open, placed third on the list with an estimated $21.7 million in earnings.

Even despite her break, Osaka still sits at fifth on the list having brought in $15 million in endorsements. She’s set to make her return to competitive tennis in the new year, which will include an appearance at the Australian Open.

Combined, the top 20 earners made roughly $226 million in 2023. It’s a drop from the $258 million made in 2022, but the retirement of Williams, who made $41.3 million last year, played a large part in the decrease. Still, the median for the top 20 earners increased from last year to $8.5 million (up from $7.3 million), and eight athletes surpassed $10 million. That number matches last year’s total – which set a record – and is double the number from 2021.

Other athletes inside the top 20 include golfer Nelly Korda, U.S. women’s national soccer players Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, gymnast Simone Biles and WNBA star Candace Parker.

Players are calling for changes to the WTA, including improvements that prioritize their health and well-being.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek said that players “are not happy with some things” following her win Wednesday over Coco Gauff at the WTA Finals. Other players outlined their concerns in an Oct. 5 letter to WTA CEO Steve Simon, as well as during two meetings with tour leadership.

Players’ requests included higher pay, a more flexible schedule and guaranteed income for maternity leave and injuries. The signatories of the letter also objected to a planned change in rules that will govern mandatory tournament appearances. While Swiatek, along with Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, did not sign the letter, the 22-year-old star shared her thoughts while at the WTA Finals.

“I feel like everything is just based on wanting to have more and more, but not really taking care of our well-being and health,” Swiatek said. “There are some things that the WTA could change for us without any impact on the tournaments and the things that they already agreed with the tournaments.”

Simon responded to players’ concerns in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. Topics being discussed by the WTA board, tournament council and players’ council include scheduling and tournament standards – including late-night matches – as well as inconsistencies in tennis balls used throughout the season, anti-doping efforts, plus marketing and social media.

“A great deal is being done and … there is a great deal of alignment in the areas you have raised and what is being worked on,” Simon wrote, promising an update the week of Nov. 13.

“I really feel like we — me and the other players, like, Ons [Jabeur], Coco … and also some players that didn’t qualify for the finals — we’re really, really united, and we think the same way,” Swiatek said. “So most of us, even the young ones, the older ones, we all know that this is kind of not good that we’re going to have more mandatory tournaments. And so we want to really, really have an impact.”

This year’s WTA Finals are being held in Cancun, Mexico, with a temporary hard court set up on a golf course. It’s been criticized by Swiatek and other players, both for the quality and for only being available for practice right before competition began.

On Sunday, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka called the conditions at the WTA Finals “another level of disrespect.”

The group stage of the WTA Finals continues at 5 p.m. ET Friday. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, Nov 4, while the finals are set for 7 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 5.

Iga Swiatek’s US Open run has come to an end.

The defending champion and world No. 1 lost in three sets in the Round of 16 Sunday to Jelena Ostapenko, who remains undefeated against Swiatek in her career. The loss means that Swiatek’s stay atop the WTA world rankings will end next week. Current No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will overtake the top spot for the first time.

“I don’t know why I played that bad,” Swiatek said. “I’m not happy with my performances on hard courts this year. But overall, I did a pretty good job at maintaining my level. I’m happy I’m going to have time to practice because I miss that.

“I feel like I’m progressing as a player, but I have more skills. This season was tough and intense.”

Swiatek’s 75 consecutive weeks atop the world rankings in her first stint ranks third in history. Only Steffi Graf (186 weeks) and Martina Hingis (80 weeks) were atop the rankings for longer.

According to OptaJack, during that time Swiatek also holds the record for WTA titles (nine), finals (12), matches won (97), winning ratio (85.5 percent) and top-10 defeats (17).

“I wouldn’t say [I feel] relief,” Swiatek said, when asked about relinquishing the top spot in the rankings. “There are plenty of things that I know I should have done differently. Maybe I’m not mature enough yet to do that. I’m really working hard to not think about this stuff a lot.

“Sometimes when you force yourself not to think about stuff, the result is the opposite. I’m really happy that I have smart people around me and they are telling me how to do it, and they are guiding me. But it’s on me to actually make it happen.”

Still, the 22-year-old Polish star said that the next time she tops the rankings, she will do some things differently.

“Because yeah, it was a little bit stressful,” Swiatek said. “And it shouldn’t be. I mean, tennis is stressful overall, but I should embrace it a little bit more. And I’ll do it differently next time.”

Jessica Pegula stunned world No. 1 Iga Świątek in the semifinals of the Canadian Open on Saturday, beating the Polish star, 6-2 6-7(4) 6-4.

Amid the drama, however, was a moment of mass confusion at center court: As Swiatek reached for the ball, in the second set tiebreak, the opening notes to “Cotton-Eyed Joe” played through the sound system. The fans gasped.

“I just thought it was funny,” Pegula told reporters afterward. “I’ve never had that happen, let alone with ‘Cotton-Eye Joe.’ I was like: ‘Is this really happening right now?’ Of all the songs. It was just like: ‘What is going on?’

Pegula wore a look of astonishment as the referee announced the point would need to be replayed.

“It was a bummer because I hit a really good lob and she barely got it, and I had a really good play on the ball, and she was kind of out of position from the lob that I hit,” Pegula said.

Świątek went on to win the next 12 points and leveled the match at one set each. But Pegula rallied and won 16 of the last 19 points of the match to seal the victory – Pegula’s send over Świątek this year.

Pegula will play the winner of the match between Elena Rybakina or Liudmila Samsonova in the final Sunday evening. She would be the first American winner of the tournament since Serena Williams in 2013.

This time, hopefully, the match won’t be interrupted by a horrifyingly catchy country folk dance ballad from the 19th century.

Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina upset top seed Iga Swiatek in a three-set thriller Tuesday at Wimbledon, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 2-6.

Svitolina, who gave birth to her first child less than nine months ago, will advance to the semifinals in just her second Grand Slam tournament since her return. She becomes the third wild card to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon — and the first to do so in more than a decade.

Overall, Svitolina advances to her third career Grand Slam semifinal and second at Wimbledon. For Swiatek, the quarterfinals marks her career-best finish at Wimbledon.

Following the win, she gave credit to Swiatek, who has been vocal in her support for Ukraine during Russia’s invasion.

“Iga is not only a great champion, she’s an unbelievable person. She was one of the first ones that really helped Ukrainian people,” Svitolina said after the match. “It was a huge help for Ukraine. It’s not easy to play someone you share lots of good moments with.”

The former world No. 3, Svitolina won 82% of points on her first serve and 111 points total. She also won 70 service points and six of nine break points.

Svitolina’s upset win marked the second of two matches on the women’s singles side Tuesday. No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula also was upset in three sets, falling to Markéta Vondrousová.

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek won her third French Open title in four years on Saturday, defeating Karolina Muchova in three sets, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Swiatek now owns four Grand Slam titles: three from the French Open (2020, 2022, 2023), plus last year’s U.S. Open. The 22-year-old tennis star from Poland is the youngest woman to own four Grand Slam trophies since a 20-year-old Serena Williams accomplished the feat at the 2002 U.S. Open.

After winning the first set handily, Swiatek went up 3-0 in the second — but the unseeded Muchova fought back and scored a few truly remarkable points, including this one:

Despite Swiatek’s previous experience hoisting the French Open trophy, this year’s celebration came with a surprise when the lid of the cup toppled off mid-celebration.

Wednesday’s French Open lineup featured upsets and rematches, as World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 6 Coco Gauff met in the French Open for the first time since last year’s final.

Swiatek beat Gauff in straight sets once again, this time taking a 6-4, 6-2 win.

“I feel pretty satisfied with my game, I’m happy I was able to make it in two sets,” Swiatek told the Tennis Channel afterwards. “In the first set, in important moments, I was the one that was more solid. It wasn’t easy, especially with the wind today, but I’m happy I’m into the semifinal.”

The Polish star has won 14 straight sets against Gauff and owns a 7-0 career record in matches against the American teenager. Swiatek has also won 12 straight matches on the clay courts at Roland Garros, elevating her career win-loss record at the tournament to 26-2.

With the win, Swiatek advances to her third French Open semifinal. Each time she’s reached the semifinal previously at Roland Garros, she’s won the title.

But the three-time major champion will face a tough test Thursday in Beatriz Haddad Maia, who upset Ons Jabeur in three sets on Wednesday to become the first Brazilian woman since 1968 to reach a Grand Slam semifinal. In their only previous meeting last summer, Haddad Maia upset Swiatek on the hard courts of Toronto.