Four-time Grand Slam champions Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka will go head-to-head in the first French Open women’s night match in three years on Monday (June 1, 2026), as a host of men’s players eye a maiden major quarterfinal.

World number one Sabalenka will likely face a stern test in her bid to win a maiden Roland Garros crown after suffering an agonising loss to Coco Gauff in last year’s final.

A resurgent Osaka has powered into the French Open last 16 for the first time in her career, looking more at home then ever before on the Parisian clay.

It will be only the fourth meeting, all at the last-16 stage of tournaments, between two of the biggest stars in the sport.

Osaka edged their first encounter en route to the 2018 US Open title and then they never met again until this year.

Sabalenka saw off her Japanese opponent in straight sets in Indian Wells, before fighting back from a set down to win at the Madrid Open.

They renew their rivalry with a quarter-final against either former Australian Open champion Madison Keys or Russia’s Diana Shnaider up for grabs.

“It’s great, great to see her back on her level. Maybe not at her best level, but she’s back, she’s fighting, she’s building her level,” said Sabalenka of Osaka, who took a break from tennis in 2023 to give birth to her daughter.

“It’s nice to see her. She’s a great player, great person. I feel like I really enjoy our battles. It’s high-level matches, and I really enjoy when somebody pushes me to the limit.”

Osaka struggled initially for form after rejoining the tour, but reached the US Open semi-finals last year, the first time she had made the second week of a Grand Slam event since winning her second Australian Open title in 2021.

“I really wanted to make it a goal to do really well on clay and grass,” said Osaka, who has never got past the third round at Wimbledon.

“I don’t want this to be my last round. I want to keep going. I just want to keep focusing on every match.”

Osaka has been wearing a sequined, gold dress in Paris, which she likened to the Eiffel Tower at night, but has said she may switch things up for the night session.

The last remaining French player Diane Parry will be hoping to emulate last year’s surprise semi-finalist Lois Boisson and continue her dream run, going up against Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska.

Austrian 28th seed Anastasia Potapova looks to back up her win over defending champion Coco Gauff when she faces Anna Kalinskaya.

Wide-open men’s draw

World number six Felix Auger-Aliassime is the highest-ranked player left in the top half of the men’s draw after the shock exit of Jannik Sinner and an early defeat for Ben Shelton.

The Canadian will bid to reach his first French Open quarter-final when he plays Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, in the last 16 of a Slam event for the first time.

World number 85 Zachary Svajda had only won two Grand Slam matches before this tournament, but even he took notice of Sinner’s loss.

“When I saw Sinner was out, I try to stay present and stay positive and just take it day by day, match by match,” said the American, who takes on Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli.

“I knew the draw was open, but I just tried to keep doing my routines, keep doing what I’ve been doing, and just see what happens.”

Former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini targets his first Slam quarter-final since 2022 when he goes up against Sinner’s conqueror Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Frances Tiafoe, who lost to Lorenzo Musetti in the last eight 12 months ago, plays another Italian in Matteo Arnaldi.

Aryna Sabalenka cut through the French ​Open chaos as the world number ‌one beat Australia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-0 ​7-5 on Saturday (May 30, 2026) to ⁠seal her place in the fourth round after seismic upsets in the previous two ‌days at Roland Garros.

With top seed Jannik Sinner and ‌24-times Grand Slam winner Novak ‌Djokovic ⁠exiting in the last 48 ⁠hours, Sabalenka restored order with a commanding display to book a tantalising meeting with ​Japan’s Naomi Osaka.

Sabalenka ‌wasted little time to get going on a sun-drenched Court Suzanne Lenglen, winning the opening five games ‌with a mix of power ​from the baseline and precision at the net, before she ⁠fought from 15-40 down in the next to secure a bagel.

Russian-born Kasatkina, ‌who began representing her adopted country last year, broke and held against the run of play in the second set to draw chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” and those ‌voices soon became a lot quieter.

An unforced ​error from Kasatkina allowed Sabalenka to draw level at 2-2, ⁠and the four-times Grand Slam champion ⁠stayed in touch before dialling up the intensity late on ‌to complete her eighth victory in 10 meetings between the pair.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said Friday that the IOC’s move to lift restrictions on Belarusian athletes does not affect Belarus’s continued ban from the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.

In a statement sent to AFP, world tennis’s governing body said its stance remained unchanged despite the International Olympic Committee’s decision to lift its ban on Belarus.

“The International Tennis Federation confirms that the IOC’s announcement does not change its existing position regarding the Belarus and Russian Tennis Federations’ suspensions, which remain in place,” the ITF wrote.

Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus had been banned from international competition following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although some were permitted to compete as neutrals.

Restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place under IOC rules.

The ITF said its position on Belarus would be reviewed later in the year.

“The membership status of the Belarus Tennis Federation will be considered at the ITF Annual General Meeting in October by the ITF’s voting member nations in accordance with ITF constitutional process,” the organisation said.

The ITF oversees major international team competitions such as the Davis Cup and the BJK Cup. It also organises Olympic tennis events in conjunction with the IOC.

The participation of Russian and Belarusian players on the professional tour depends on decisions taken separately by the ATP, the WTA and the organisers of the four Grand Slam tournaments.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said she hoped she would be able to play tennis again under the Belarusian flag.

“For me representing such a small country, and the hard work that I had to do to get to the top, it’s just like, guys, it’s incredible, it’s a small country, and to make it all the way here, it means a lot to me,” said Sabalenka.

“I would be super proud to represent Belarus.”

Players would boycott the French ‌Open if their prize money at the claycourt Grand Slam is not increased, women’s ​world number one Aryna Sabalenka said on Tuesday, with Coco Gauff also voicing ⁠support for the drastic step.

The threat deepens a dispute between players and Roland Garros organisers over prize money distribution, even though this year’s tournament offers a 9.5% increase to 61.7 million euros ($72.19 million).

Several top players released a statement ‌on Monday saying they were set to receive prize money that would likely still be less than 15% of tournament revenue, well short of the 22% they demanded ‌to match ATP and WTA combined 1000 events.

When asked how far players might push their ‌demands, ⁠Sabalenka told reporters at the Italian Open: “I think at some point we will boycott ⁠it (the tournament), yeah. I feel like that’s going to be the only way to fight for our rights.

“Let’s see how far we can get, if it’s going to take players for boycott… Some of the things, I feel like it’s really ​unfair to the players. I think at ‌some point it’s going to get to this.”

However, the world number one struck a hopeful note about ongoing negotiations.

“I just really hope that all of the negotiation that we are having, we at some point are going to get to the right decision, to the conclusion that ‌everyone will be happy with,” she added.

Reuters has contacted the French Tennis Federation for comment.

The ​prize money boost of 5.4 million euros compared to 2025 still leaves Roland Garros trailing its Grand Slam rivals.

The U.S. Open offered $90 million last year while Wimbledon ⁠paid out 53.5 million pounds ($72.51 million) and the Australian Open a record A$111.5 million ($80.06 million) this year.

Gauff says players must form union

World number four Gauff said she could “100% see” players boycotting a Grand Slam ‌if they took the decision together as one.

“It’s not about me. It’s about the future of our sport and also the current players who aren’t getting as much benefits, maybe, as even some of the top players are getting when it comes to sponsorship and things like that,” Gauff said.

“We’re making money off court. When you look at the (players ranked) 50 to 100, 50 to 200, how much money each Slam makes, it’s kind of unfortunate where the 200 best tennis players are living ‌paycheck to paycheck.”

Gauff also suggested the players must form a union, highlighting how the WNBA basketball players’ union reached a ​tentative agreement on a collective bargaining deal earlier this year after nearly 17 months of negotiations.

“Just taking what the WNBA accomplished. They also have a union, so I ⁠think that helps,” she added.

“From the things I’ve seen with other sports, usually to make massive progress ⁠and things like this, it takes a union.”

Sabalenka said the players deserved more prize money.

“When you see the number and you see the amount the players are receiving… I feel ‌like the show is on us. I feel like without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and there wouldn’t be that entertainment,” Sabalenka added.

“I feel like definitely we deserve to be ​paid more percentage. What can I say?”

Elina Svitolina sent two-time champion Iga Swiatek spinning out at Indian Wells on Thursday (March 12, 2026) to line up a semifinal meeting with Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina.

Ninth-ranked Ukrainian Svitolina surged home to beat world number two Swiatek 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 while Rybakina thwarted Jessica Pegula’s comeback bid in a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) victory over the fifth-ranked American.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka kept her bid for a first title in the prestigious ATP and WTA Masters 1000 event on track, holding off Canadian teen Victoria Mboko 7-6 (7/0), 6-4.

The Belarusian star will face 14th-ranked Czech Linda Noskova, who ended the fairytale run of Australian qualifier Talia Gibson 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Svitolina’s aggressive attack was too much for Swiatek, who coughed up eight double faults and looked out-of-sorts in the early going.

The experienced Svitolina made the most of the early chances she was given then held her nerve in a tense third set.

She gained the lone break of the final frame as she won the last three games to take the match.

“I wouldn’t say it was the perfect match, but I could stay in the match and fight and find a way after losing second set,” Svitolina said.

“There is no champion who is waiting for the mistakes, and you have to really try to set up yourself in a good position to attack,” she added. “I was trying to really open up the court and try to take the advantage, because Iga is such an aggressive player, and she moves really well. So if you don’t take the opportunity, she’s going to take it.”

Svitolina closed it out in style, giving herself a match point with an ace and nailing a forehand volley to reach the Indian Wells semi-finals for the first time since 2019.

“You make me feel a bit old with that stat,” quipped the 31-year-old Svitolina, who returned to the top 10 in the world rankings in February for the first time since 2021 and the first time since becoming a mother.

It was just her second career win over Swiatek in six meetings and her first since 2023. But the victory continued a rich run of form in 2026 that has seen Svitolina capture the title in Auckland and finish runner up in Dubai last month.

For six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek it was another disappointing quarter-final exit this year after she fell at the same stage in the Australian Open and in Doha.

Rybakina halts Pegula streak

Rybakina, the 2023 Indian Wells champion, booked a return to the semi-finals with another win over Pegula, who fell to the Kazakh in the semi-finals in Melbourne.

Rybakina recouped a break that had her trailing 4-1 in the second set and put on a serving clinic in the tiebreaker to end Dubai champion Pegula’s eight-match winning streak.

Sabalenka’s clash with Mboko was also an Australian Open rematch. Sabalenka said the 19-year-old Canadian had made strides since she was swept aside in the fourth round at Melbourne, but the Belarusian’s power and precision ultimately proved too much.

“It was a tough battle today,” Sabalenka said. “Super happy with the performance. Happy the level I played on those key moments in each set.

“I think she was serving much better than she did in that match in Australia,” Sabalenka added. “Definitely a bit more confident and was playing more brave.”

Mboko agreed but said there was room for more improvement.

“It’s never easy to play the world number one,” she said. “I had a lot of chances in the first set… but she was playing really well, especially on pressure points. I’ve got to give credit to her there.”