Wimbledon will begin on Monday, with French Open-winner Iga Swiatek looking to take her first grass court major title. 

Others looking to challenge her include Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur, and 2023 Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova. 

Grass isn't the strongest surface for some of the world’s heaviest hitters, including Swiatek, Gauff, and Sabalenka. Jabeur, meanwhile, will be looking to win her first Grand Slam singles title after falling short in last year’s final. 

But the tournament’s proximity to the Paris Olympics — combined with the fact that the Olympics will be played on clay courts — has resulted in a number of key players dropping out of the Summer Games.

Sabalenka, Jabeur, and American Madison Keys are among a group of top players declining to participate in the Summer Games, citing health and fitness concerns in relation to a tight schedule played on multiple surfaces.

"We have decided that the quick change of surface and the body’s adaptation required would put my knee at risk and jeopardize the rest of my season," Jabeur posted on social media regarding her Olympic withdrawal.

"It’s too much with the scheduling," Sabalenka echoed. "It’s just too much. I made the decision to take care of my health."

Both Swiatek and Gauff, who excel on clay courts, are still planning to participate this summer in Paris.

Ons Jabeur and Aryna Sabalenka joined a growing list of tennis stars opting out of the Olympics on Monday.

Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion and World No. 3, told reporters in Berlin that she was looking after her health while citing WTA tournament participation requirements. The Belarusian had struggled with a stomach bug during the French Open, where she lost in the semifinals of a major for the first time since 2022. 

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Similarly, Jabeur referenced the health risks that come with a change in playing surfaces. The World No. 10 has been battling knee injuries this season, and lost in the French Open quarterfinals to Coco Gauff. 

"Especially with all the struggles I was having last month, I feel like I need to take care of my health… It’s too much with the scheduling," Sabalenka told reporters. "It’s just too much. I made the decision to take care of my health."

Players will spend the next few weeks playing on grass in the lead-up to Wimbledon, while the Olympics will be played on clay at Roland-Garros. 

"After consulting with my medical team regarding attending the Olympics in Paris, we have decided that the quick change of surface and the body’s adaptation required would put my knee at risk and jeopardize the rest of my season," Jabeur tweeted on Monday. "Unfortunately, I will not be able to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics. I have always loved representing my country in any competition, However, I must listen to my body and follow my medical team’s advice."

The two join Emma Raducanu in opting out of the Olympics. Raducanu — who has dealt with a number of injuries since her US Open win in 2021 — said the change in surface was "not worth the risk."

Mirra Andreeva is making her Australian Open debut in style, beating 6-seed Ons Jabeur in straight sets.

The 16-year-old’s first career top-10 victory came in decisive fashion, as Andreeva won 6-0, 6-2 in just 54 minutes. Afterwards, the 47th-ranked Russian player had nothing but great things to say about her opponent, who she considers one of her idols.

“It was one of my dreams to play against her because I really like the way she plays,” she told reporters afterwards. “As I said before, I’m inspired by her, so it means a lot. Today, it meant a lot, this match that I won.

“Now, after the match, she came to me, she wished me luck. I just know that she is who she is and she never changes. That’s what I like about her.”

Andreeva dominated from the beginning to the end, facing just one break point throughout the match. She hit 13 winners and only 10 unforced errors. Jabeur, in contrast, hit just nine winners to 24 unforced errors.

According to the WTA, Andreeva is just the second-youngest player in the Open era to concede three games or fewer against a top-10 seed at a grand slam. Jelena Dokic is the youngest, having beaten Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in 1999.

The teenager called it “probably the best match” of her career thus far.

“The first set, I didn’t expect that I would play this good. Second set was also not bad,” she said. “For me, it was an amazing match. I’m super happy with the level that I showed today on the court.”

She’s the first player aged 17 or younger to defeat a top-10 player at the Australian Open since Coco Gauff beat then-defending champion Naomi Osaka in the 2019 tournament’s third round. Gauff won her second round match in straight sets on Tuesday, extending her winning streak at Grand Slams to nine matches.

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.

Coco Gauff advanced to the French Open quarterfinals for the third consecutive year with a straight-sets win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

With the win, the 19-year-old reaches her fourth career Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she will face No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Swiatek earned a 6-3, 6-1 win over Gauff in the 2022 championship match at Roland-Garros.

In Monday’s match against Schmiedlova, Gauff overcame a scraped knee during a tense first set and went on to claim a 7-5, 6-2 victory.

While Gauff came out on top in her fourth-round match, fellow U.S. star Sloane Stephens fell to No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, on Sunday.

Sabalenka raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first set, and while Stephens battled back to force a tiebreak, the 25-year-old Belarusian still prevailed to reach her first French Open quarterfinal.

“I think it was just a few key moments which I didn’t finish right, and then she started to believe in herself a little bit more,” Sabalenka said. “People started to support her more. She kind of played with that crush and was like going for the shots. I think she played unbelievable tennis.”

The Belarusian isn’t the only one to make her first trip to the quarterfinals. Beatriz Haddad Maia advanced to her first quarterfinals by taking down Sara Sorribes Tormo, becoming the first Brazilian to reach the French Open quarterfinals since 1968.

The three-set match between Haddad Maia and Sorribes Tormo lasted 3 hours and 41 minutes, the longest of the season and third-longest women’s match ever at Roland-Garros.

Ons Jabeur is also making her first French Open quarterfinal after defeating Bernarda Pera in the fourth round. Including this tournament, Jabeur has made the quarterfinals in each Grand Slam in her career. And Karolína Muchová is also appearing her first French Open quarterfinal.

2023 French Open: Quarterfinals

  • Tuesday, June 6
    • Karolína Muchová vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova — 5 a.m. ET
    • Elina Svitolina vs. Aryna Sabalenka — 6:30 a.m. ET
  • Wednesday, June 7
    • Coco Gauff vs. Iga Swiatek — TBD
    • Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Ons Jabeur — TBD
  • All matches will be televised on the Tennis Channel.

Ons Jabeur is joining Evolve, the sports management agency founded by Naomi Osaka.

“New year, new beginnings,” Jabeur tweeted along with a photo of the release announcing her signing. The Tunisian star, who reached her first two major finals last year at Wimbledon and the US Open, has also signed with Adel Aref for representation.

“It’s nice to sign with someone who knows my culture,” Jabeur told WTA Insider about signing with Aref, who is also from Tunisia.

“I feel like it’s something that could be great because I don’t have the same profile as Naomi, but also maybe a little bit,” Jabeur continued. “She’s the only one coming from Japan, and I’m the only one coming from the Middle East. I want to explore that and give them a chance to work with Adel.”

Osaka took to social media herself to welcome Jabeur to Evolve. She first met Jabeur in 2015, and she remembers thinking, “She’s the nicest person I’ve ever met.”

“She always came up to me, cracked jokes and made me feel more comfortable,” Osaka continued. “Even now when we play the same tournaments she still does the same.

“That type of kindness is something I’ll never forget and I think moments like that are what define your character. Over the years, watching her rise through the tour and become the star that she is has been incredibly joyful to watch and I can’t wait to see her create more history and ascend even higher.”

Osaka launched Evolve in 2022, with the hope of drawing in athletes who are at the top – or have the potential to be at the top – of their sport. She left IMG in May after her contract expired and became the first female athlete to launch her own agency, Sportico reported at the time.

Belinda Bencic cruised to her first clay court final Saturday, taking down Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-3. She’ll face off against Ons Jabeur, who mounted a comeback against Amanda Anisimova in her own semifinal.

The defending Olympic gold medalist and world No. 21, Bencic will be playing in her 14th WTA Tour singles final.

Alexandrova didn’t go down without a fight, pulling back from being down 4-1 to 4-4 in the first set. But Bencic won three-fourths of her first service points while also winning on 68 percent of Alexandrova’s second service points.

Bencic managed five aces and won 71 percent of her first service points.

In the other semifinal, Anisimova took a commanding lead in the first set before Jabeur fought back in the second and third sets, winning 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The world No. 10 had to stage multiple comebacks to secure the win over 47th-ranked Anisimova. Sunday will be Jabeur’s first WTA final of the year and just her second overall.

Both will be seeking their first clay court singles title. Bencic took the only match the two have taken, winning via retirement in the round of 16 at Madrid last season.