As Alexander Zverev sank to the ground after his crowning glory at the French Open men’s final in Paris, Indian official Syed Akram Javeed enjoyed a huge victory of his own.

After all, Akram, who stood just a few yards away from the jubilant German at the winning moment, earned the distinction of being the first Indian line judge at a Roland-Garros men’s title decider. Yet, he remains grounded.

“When I finally walked on to Court Philippe-Chatrier for the biggest match, I had an unbelievable feeling. There was also a deep sense of responsibility,” Akram told The Hindu in a virtual interaction.

“There are many officials from India who have been part of multiple finals in other Grand Slams; they paved the way for officials like me to get to this stage. So, when I was trusted and given the opportunity, it was about ensuring that I am not the last.”

The Chennai man, who has also officiated at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, is “pleased” with his progress but is constantly striving for betterment.

“It has been a journey of learning and reaching milestones. As much as I am proud, it (being involved in high-profile matches) is also validation in a way.

“Years of grind, long travel, missing important moments with family and friends — it all builds towards something like this and makes it worth it. That said, I am always working on improving. I hope to work as a chair umpire in a Grand Slam main-draw match soon,” Akram added.

Matteo Arnaldi clawed his way back from the brink to ​become the third Italian man in the French Open ‌quarterfinals on Monday (June 1, 2026), outlasting American Frances Tiafoe ​7-6(5) 6-7(5) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-4 in ⁠a delirious late-night epic on court Suzanne-Lenglen.

With the crowd crackling under the Paris floodlights, the world number 104 ‌stared elimination in the face when he trailed 4-1 in the fourth set, ‌only to summon one final surge and ‌prevail ⁠on his third match point after five ⁠hours and 26 minutes of ferocious shot-making and lung-busting rallies.

“It’s a dream to be here. Today in the third set ​I was so ‌tired,” said Arnaldi, the marathon man of this year’s tournament after already needing more than five hours to win his third-round match.

“We live ‌to play these matches, I always wanted ​to play like this at night at Roland Garros.

“It was not tennis, just ⁠something else, with everything we had. Someone had to win. Fortunately, it was me tonight.”

Arnaldi has now ‌spent 17 hours and 42 minutes on court in Paris — the most by any player reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam since the ATP Tour began recording match times in 1991.

The Italian produced moments of almost absurd ‌defence to blunt the power of 19th seed Tiafoe, scrambling ​from corner to corner and somehow turning defence into attack in a match ⁠that repeatedly pushed both men beyond exhaustion.

Tiafoe eventually cracked, ⁠dumping a backhand into the net.

Arnaldi will next face compatriot Matteo Berrettini for a ‌place in the semi-finals, both joining Flavio Cobolli in the last eight after their compatriot ​Jannik Sinner’s surprise second-round exit.

Aryna Sabalenka continued her relentless charge towards a maiden ​French Open crown as she overcame the resistance ‌of Naomi Osaka 7-5 6-3 on ​Monday (June 1, 2026) to reach the quarter-finals.

In the ⁠first women’s night-session match at Roland Garros in three years, the Belarusian world number one recovered ‌from a shaky start to reach the last eight.

Sabalenka, who has now ‌reached at least the quarter-finals in her ‌last ⁠14 Grand Slam appearances, set up ⁠a last-eight meeting with Russian Diana Shnaider.

“She is such a great player, she plays a super aggressive ​tennis. I’m happy with ‌how I was able to put back the pressure on her. It’s amazing to play the night session in front of ‌all of you guys,” Sabalenka said ​on court before showing off a ‘Moon Walk’ to the Philippe Chatrier crowd.

“I’m ⁠super happy with my serve. I’m super pleased overall with the performance today.”

Osaka opened a ‌2-0 lead courtesy of a Sabalenka double fault but the Belarusian immediately broke back and stole her opponent’s serve decisively for 6-5 lead, whipping a powerful service return that the 16th seed could not control, ‌her backhand failing to clear the net.

Following a ​tough hold for 3-3, Sabalenka broke for 4-3, ending a long rally with ⁠a subtle half volley.

Osaka, who was playing in ⁠the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time, did not ‌have more in the tank, and she lost the remaining games, bowing out on ​Sabalenka’s first match point.

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.

Romanian veteran ​Sorana Cirstea proved that dreams have no expiry as she beat China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3 ‌7-6(4) at the French Open on Sunday to reach her first ​Roland Garros quarter-final in 17 years.

The 36-year-old, who is retiring at ⁠the end of the season, advanced to the quarter-final of a Grand Slam for just the third time in her career.

It will be her first quarterfinal in the French capital since ‌2009 – the longest gap between the first two quarter-finals at a women’s singles major in the Open Era.

“I always thought there is no ‌expiry date for ambition and for dreams. I have so much passion ‌for ⁠this sport,” Cirstea said after her victory.

“I absolutely love tennis and ⁠to be able to still play at this level – have my family, my team, the closest people watching me – it’s an absolute joy.

“I think sometimes society puts us in certain groups because of ​the age. But I think in ‌life, you are free to do whatever you want and I want to play. And here I am, thank you everyone for all the support.” She could sense an opening for a shot at glory, with the bottom half ‌of the women’s draw devoid of a Grand Slam finalist after a ​string of upsets including the exit of four-time champion Iga Swiatek earlier in the day.

Form of life

Cirstea is in the form ⁠of her life after becoming the oldest player to break into the top 20 earlier this month. She reached two semifinals during the clay court swing and shocked world ‌number one Aryna Sabalenka in Rome.

The Romanian also became the oldest player in the Open Era to claim a 6-0 6-0 win in a Grand Slam main draw with her third-round victory over Solana Sierra.

Against Wang, Cirstea dominated the opening set, breaking twice to surge into a 5-1 lead.

With the finish line in sight in the second set for Cirstea at 5-2, Wang fought back to force a ‌tiebreak where the Romanian found a second wind to win in 84 minutes before the pair ​embraced at the net.

“I think the older I got, the less pressure I put on myself. I’m trying to just play the points, ⁠not play the score and this is what’s helping me,” Cirstea added.

“I think I’m ⁠a very complete player. I can attack, I can defend, I’m way calmer on the court and I’m also enjoying (myself).

“At the end of the ‌day, we all have a passion and my passion is tennis. I’m just so grateful for everything that’s happening.”

Cirstea will next play the winner of the ​match between eighth seed Mirra Andreeva and Jil Teichmann. (Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrew Cawthorne)

Marta Kostyuk reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time on Sunday (May 31, 2026) by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.

Kostyuk, who is undefeated on clay this season, had lost their three previous matches and never taken a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 on Sunday (May 31).

She defended extremely well, chasing Swiatek’s shots all over the court, and also produced some stunning groundstroke winners while her rival was also undone by her own mistakes.

An intense baseline battle unfolded from the outset and Swiatek earned the first break when she overwhelmed Kostyuk after a long rally with a backhand winner.

Kostyuk broke back immediately, though, only to drop her serve again and hand Swiatek a 5-4 lead.

The Polish player showed signs of nerves as she double-faulted, shanked a forehand wide and then missed a volley at the net, allowing Kostyuk to level at 5-5. Swiatek hit two more double faults in the 12th game and the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player sealed the set with a backhand passing shot.

Swiatek then briefly left the court. Meanwhile, Kostyuk kept herself warm by stretching and hopping beside her chair, then received some applause as she did a few dance moves to the music playing in the stadium.

Following a first week marked by a suffocating heatwave, relief finally arrived in Paris on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to 21 degrees C (70 F) around midday.

When play resumed, Swiatek broke, but yet another double fault coupled with more unforced errors brought her opponent back at 1-1. Kostyuk then won the last five games.

Kostyuk had reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2021, losing to Swiatek.

The 15th-ranked Ukrainian is in a strong run of form and extended her winning streak on clay to 16 matches. Ahead of Roland Garros, she won in Madrid — the biggest title of her career — after she claimed another clay-court title in Rouen, France.

Swiatek has not won a title on clay since the 2024 French Open.

Naomi Osaka continued to shine in the City of Light as she beat American teenager Iva Jovic 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, in the French Open third round on Saturday (May 30, 2026).

On Court Suzanne Lenglen, the Japanese star once again made an eye-catching entry, wearing a gold jacket and a voluminous gold train, an outfit, bracketed by pink tennis sneakers and a black sponsor’s visor.

She shed the outer layers to play in another variation of her gold tennis dress, which shone in the blazing sun of the fading Paris heatwave.

After the match, Osaka refused to reveal if she had more outfits lined up in her hotel room.

“I think it’s a surprise every time,” she said.

The No. 16 seed continued what is already her longest Roland Garros run.

“I was a lot calmer than in my first matches,” said Osaka, who has won the Australian and US Opens twice each.

“In a slam the further I get the calmer I am. It such an honour to be here. It’s the furthest I have ever been here.”

She will next face either women’s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka or unseeded Australian Daria Kasatkina.

In a match dominated by the serve, Osaka gained the decisive break in the 10th game of the third set. Jovic, seeded 17, opened the game with a 162kph ace, but after that, faltered when Osaka returned, finding the net twice and then hitting long on the first match point.

The players exchanged breaks early in the first set and midway through the second before both went to tiebreaks.

Osaka edged the first. Jovic, 18, raced away to win in the second.

The 28-year-old Osaka said her serve had been crucial against her young opponent.

“I am really glad it was working,” said Osaka. “Against some players you need to put your serve in and she was very aggressive on my second serve,”

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.

With two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz absent, Jannik Sinner was expected to capture his first French Open crown this year. Instead, the top-ranked Italian lost in the second round, leaving the men’s draw wide open.

Three-time champion Novak Djokovic was the most experienced contender left in the field, chasing a record 25th major title. But the 39-year-old Serb will have to wait until Wimbledon after losing a five-set thriller to 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca on Friday (May 29, 2026).

The result may not have been so surprising because Djokovic came into the tournament with questions over his form after losing to a Croatian qualifier at the Italian Open, his only clay-court warmup event after two months out with a right shoulder injury.

Here is a look at some of the favorites still in contention for the title:

Alexander Zverev

Germany’s Alexander Zverev
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

He will likely think this is best chance of winning his first major title. The 2024 runner-up to Alcaraz has also advanced to three semifinals and another quarterfinal in Paris. The 29-year-old German is in excellent form after reaching the final in Madrid and the semifinals in Monte Carlo and Munich. The second-seeded Zverev advanced to the fourth round with a four-set win late Friday over Frenchman Quentin Halys.

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

At No. 4, the Canadian is the highest seed left in the top half of the draw and will take on Brandon Nakashima in the third round. Auger-Aliassime was two points away from defeat in the first round before rallying past Daniel Altmaier in five sets. He then got past Roman Andres Burruchaga in four sets. Auger-Aliassime’s best result at Roland Garros was the fourth round in 2022 and 2024.

Rafael Jodar

Spain’s Rafael Jodar.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

He is the latest tennis sensation from Spain. The 19-year-old Jodar is into the fourth round at a major for the first time after his five-set win over Alex Michelsen. Jodar claimed his first ATP title in Marrakech last month then made it to the semifinals in Barcelona and the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome. His tour-level record on clay is 18-3. By comparison, 14-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz both went 13-7 through their first 20 tour-level matches on clay.

Moise Kouame

France’s Moise Kouame.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Can the French teenager create a major surprise and emulate Yannick Noah, the last Frenchman to win at Roland Garros in 1983? Kouame reached the third round after a five-set, five-hour thriller that delighted the French crowd. The No. 318-ranked player next faces Chilean Alejandro Tabilo. Kouame beat Marin Cilic in straight sets in the first round, becoming the first man born in 2008 or later to win a Grand Slam match.

Casper Ruud

Norway’s Casper Ruud.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Ruud lost the 2022 final to Nadal and the 2023 final to Djokovic. The Norwegian has struggled in the Paris heat this week and needed five sets to prevail in the first round. Ruud faces Tommy Paul of the United States in the third round.

Joao Fonseca

Brazil’s Joao Fonseca.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

He has to be added to the list after a brilliant comeback win against arguably the best men’s player of all time. Fonseca became the first teenager to defeat the Serbian at a Grand Slam event. He is into the fourth round at a major for the first time..