The 2025 French Open has emerged as a landmark event in tennis, featuring breakthrough performances and record-setting achievements. Coco Gauff has made history as the youngest American in the Open Era to secure more than 25 career women’s singles match wins at Roland Garros, underscoring her impressive rise. Alongside Gauff, other tennis luminaries such as Novak Djokovic have advanced into the semi-finals, setting up headline-grabbing clashes. These developments highlight the intense competition and stakes unfolding on the Parisian clay courts, as top players compete for Grand Slam glory.
The spotlight also illuminates young French sensation Lois Boisson, the youngest Frenchwoman to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since Amelie Mauresmo in 1999, exemplifying a blend of emerging talent and established excellence at this year’s tournament.
Women’s Semi-Finals: Swiatek and Sabalenka’s Rivalry Intensifies
Iga Swiatek continues to assert her dominance on the red clay, boasting a remarkable streak of 26 consecutive French Open match wins in the women’s singles, matching the longest women’s winning streak in any Grand Slam this century. Swiatek holds the highest winning percentage at Roland Garros in the Open Era for women’s singles, with a 95.2% record, having won 40 of her 42 matches on Parisian clay.
Opposite her in the semi-finals stands Aryna Sabalenka, who since the start of 2020, has reached 11 Grand Slam semi-finals, the most of any female player in that span. Sabalenka seeks her first French Open victory to add to her two Australian Open titles and one US Open title. She aims to reach her third consecutive Grand Slam final, consolidating her position among the sport’s elite.
The head-to-head record slightly favors Swiatek, who leads Sabalenka 8-4, setting the stage for a highly anticipated semifinal battle. Swiatek, reflecting on their rivalry, stated,
“For sure you need to be 100 percent and you need to be there, but I wouldn’t say it’s different against Coco or against good players overall. But for sure our rivalry is pushing both of us, I think, but it’s not only about the level of tennis. It’s about like everything, how we work, and how professional we are.”
—Iga Swiatek
Sabalenka embraces the challenge with equal determination:
“I love tough challenges. I think these are the matches where you actually improve as a player and where you get much stronger. And I’m always excited to face someone strong and then someone who can challenge me. I go out there and I fight, and I’m ready to leave everything I have to get the win.”
—Aryna Sabalenka
Swiatek Seeks Historic Fourth Consecutive French Open Title
The stakes could not be higher for Iga Swiatek, who is vying to become the first woman in the Open Era, and the first since Suzanne Lenglen in 1923, to win four consecutive French Open singles championships. A successful defense this year would also see her surpass or come close to Chris Evert’s record of 29 consecutive French Open wins, a benchmark Evert has openly expressed concern about:
“I’m worried about it every day. When I put my head under the pillow I’m worried about Iga. I think Iga will end up on double digits. I don’t just think she will beat my record here. I think it’s double digits.”
—Chris Evert
Meanwhile, Sabalenka’s ambition to secure her first Roland Garros title fuels the rivalry, with the potential to close in on Swiatek’s Grand Slam tally if victorious.
Coco Gauff’s Rising French Open Legacy and Boisson’s French Breakthrough
Coco Gauff’s recent win against Madison Keys not only secured her a second consecutive French Open semi-final appearance but also marked her fifth Grand Slam semi-final overall, with three on the clay courts of Paris. Achieving this milestone at just 19 years old, Gauff is poised to become the first American woman since Serena Williams to claim the French Open title, potentially ending a long drought for American women at Roland Garros.
Gauff’s record-breaking feats include becoming the youngest American in the Open Era with over 25 singles match wins at the French Open, and she also reached her 10th career women’s singles match victory over a former Grand Slam champion at a major.
Lois Boisson, ranked 361st in the WTA, has made headlines for defeating multiple Top 10 players within a single tournament, a feat not achieved by a player ranked outside the top 300 since Serena Williams accomplished it in 1997. Reflecting on her breakthrough, Boisson shared,
“I stay in my zone. I stay focused on the tournament, so I don’t really think about everything outside. I don’t really watch social media and everything. I just stay focused, and I will see all this kind of thing after the tournament.”
—Lois Boisson
Adding to this, she emphasized,
No, I don’t think it’s a miracle. For sure, I have a little bit of luck also, but I think it’s just the hard work that I put since I started playing tennis and also last year with my rehab and everything.
—Lois Boisson
Boisson is now carrying the hopes of French tennis fans who have awaited a homegrown female champion since Mary Pierce’s 2000 French Open victory. On the men’s side, France has not had a singles champion since Yannick Noah in 1983, heightening the anticipation over whether Boisson can become the next French star to triumph.
Top Men’s Contenders Showcase Historic Pursuits in Paris
In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic continues to defy age and expectations at 38, having recently defeated Alexander Zverev in a four-set quarter-final match. His opponent praised Djokovic’s enduring excellence:
“He’s still beating the best of the best. So I think everybody needs to respect that. He’s won 24 of these things. I think, yes, I expected him to be able to play like this. I have not seen him play like this this year yet. I think it was very, very high level from him. It was at some point difficult for me.”
—Alexander Zverev
Djokovic has become the second-oldest male player to reach a Roland Garros semi-final in the Open Era and aims to secure his 25th Grand Slam title, which would extend his all-time record for most Grand Slam wins in professional tennis. He also pursues the distinction of being the oldest man to reach a final at any Grand Slam tournament, with over 35 final appearances already to his name.
His semi-final adversary, the current world number one Jannik Sinner, has collected three major titles exclusively on hard courts and seeks his breakthrough on clay. A win here would crown Sinner as the first Italian man to win the French Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976, closing a 49-year gap.
Historic Italian Semi-Final Battle: Carlos Alcaraz vs. Lorenzo Musetti
The other men’s semi-final features a historic first: two Italian men, Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti, competing in the same Grand Slam semi-final for the first time in the Open Era. Musetti, the third-youngest Roland Garros semi-finalist since 1990, has joined elite company by reaching the final stages of all three ATP Masters 1000 clay events this season, a feat last accomplished by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, has made rapid strides as the youngest player in the Open Era to reach seven men’s singles Grand Slam semi-finals and is also among the youngest to reach three consecutive Roland Garros semi-finals. The Spaniard hopes to emulate his idol Nadal’s dominance on clay, who defended his French Open title four times in a row from 2017 to 2020.
The matchup is set to test whether Italian men’s tennis can finally end a near half-century wait and whether Alcaraz can carry forward Spain’s rich clay-court legacy.
Anticipating a Thrilling Chapter in Tennis History
The 2025 French Open semi-finals are more than mere competition; they represent a collision of generations, ambitions, and records. Coco Gauff’s record-breaking ascent signals a reinvigoration of American hopes at Roland Garros, while Novak Djokovic’s relentless pursuit of history highlights the enduring spirit of one of tennis’s greatest champions. Meanwhile, emerging talents like Lois Boisson, Jannik Sinner, and Lorenzo Musetti bring fresh narratives, fueled by hopes to break long-standing national droughts.
On the women’s side, the fierce rivalry between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka embodies the intensity and professionalism that drive the sport forward, with historic milestones within reach. With every match, the 2025 French Open deepens its place in tennis lore, promising fans thrilling battles and unforgettable moments on the storied clay courts of Roland Garros.