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.

US Soccer submitted its World Cup bid book to FIFA last week, naming 14 US stadiums among the 2031 tournament's 20+ proposed North American host venues.

The four-country joint bid for the 2031 World Cup spanned cities across host nations USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica, with the quartet collectively identifying 50 potential stadiums while also designating their proposed core of 20 venues.

In the US, stadiums in Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, and Seattle made the proposed shortlist, as well as Arlington, Texas, and East Rutherford, New Jersey, among others.

Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Torreón made Mexico's primary proposal, while Costa Rica and Jamaica put forward San Jose and Kingston, respectively.

The bid includes both soccer and football venues, with secondary venues also listed as possible options in eight of the first-choice US cities.

Additionally, the bid book pegged Atlanta as the World Cup draw host and Dallas as the tournament's international broadcast center, though FIFA will likely not make final decisions on 2031 venues until after the 2027 competition in Brazil.

"By proposing more than the required 20 sites, the joint bidders demonstrate a commitment to securing the best possible hosting conditions and ensuring the tournament represents the full diversity of our region on a global scale," FIFA stated.

The WNBA and WNBPA agreed to a second CBA extension late Sunday night, officially pushing the contract's deadline to January 9th, 2026, to allow for 40 more days of negotiations.

Like the original CBA extension from October 31st to December 1st, either the WNBA or WNBPA now has the option to terminate the agreement with 48 hours of notice.

"We expect substantive movement from the league within this window," the players union told Front Office Sports, while the WNBA issued a statement saying both parties are "continuing to work toward a new agreement."

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While total annual compensation offers have reportedly crossed the million-dollar mark for players earning the league's maximum, the WNBA's salary model — particularly in regards to revenue sharing — remains a core issue.

According to sources, the WNBA's proposal offers players a revenue-sharing option only after reaching certain minimums, while the WNBPA continues to advocate for a bigger cut of the exponentially growing league.

The players union is also reportedly advocating for a salary cap that increases with the league's income, rather than at an arbitrarily fixed growth rate.

With important offseason processes like the planned two-team expansion draft to stock incoming 2026 WNBA franchises the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo now delayed until a new CBA is in place, the pressure is approaching new highs on both sides of the negotiating table.

No. 4 Texas blew past two top-ranked opponents last week, setting the tone for the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season with back-to-back wins over No. 3 UCLA and No. 2 South Carolina to earn the Players Era Championship trophy on Thanksgiving Day.

Fifth-year senior Rori Harmon was named tournament MVP, putting up a game-leading 26 points and breaking the Longhorns' career assists record in Wednesday's 76-65 defeat of UCLA before hitting the game-winner to lift Texas over the Gamecocks 66-64 in Thursday's title game.

"I just read the vibe and flow of the game," Harmon said afterward. "[Texas head coach Vic Schaefer] called the play at the end of the game, and I've been in this moment before, so it felt good coming out of my hands."

Texas's win added fuel to the burgeoning SEC rivalry, with the teams squaring off five times in the last year — and South Carolina riding a narrow 3-2 advantage.

"I'm not upset at all," Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said postgame. "This is going to help us because there are a lot of things to unpack in it."

"If you can give [Texas] a run for their money in that way, I mean, you're on to something," she continued. "I like our resiliency. We've just got to clean up some things at the end of the game."

How to watch Texas, South Carolina this week

Both Texas and South Carolina have another ranked matchup on this week's NCAA docket, with the No. 4 Longhorns taking on the No. 12 UNC Tar Heels while the No. 2 Gamecocks face the No. 23 Louisville Cardinals.

Both games tip off at 7 PM ET on Thursday, with Texas vs. UNC airing live on ESPN2 while South Carolina vs. Louisville airs on ESPN.

After a year of testing and experimentation, the USWNT will look to close out 2025 on a high note on Monday night, when the world No. 2 squad faces No. 12 Italy in the second of the pair's winter friendlies.

"I've been very clear on the process to develop players and what we have to go through, so I'm not zoomed in on three losses," US manager Emma Hayes said of the team's 2025 shortcomings. "If I was, I wouldn't make changes."

"We work in an environment we're really proud of," she continued. "It's a very inclusive environment, diverse environment, and all these things contribute to the culture that hopefully leads to long-term success."

In line with her ongoing rotational philosophy, Hayes indicated that fans in Fort Lauderdale on Monday could see a departure from the combination of players that defeated Italy 3-0 in Orlando on Friday — as well as new tactics from the 2025 Euro semifinalists.

"My whole argument is that no matter who plays, the level of performance should still be high," Hayes said.

The US saw 16 players debut this year — the most since 1985 — with 51% of the team's combined 39 goals and 26 assists in 2025 involving a player under 25 years old.

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How to watch the USWNT vs. Italy on Monday

The 2025 finale for the No. 2 USWNT will see the national team kick off against No. 12 Italy at 7 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage airing on TNT and HBO Max.