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French Open 2026: Swiatek and De Minaur through, Boulter and Jodar in action on day two – live | French Open 2026
Key events
Billy Munday is here to steer you through some more Roland Garros coverage.
Swiatek storms to a 6-1, 6-2 victory against Jones
Tough first round match for Jones. Swiatek may have struggled last year on clay but this was just too easy for her. The world No 3 wins it with three breaks to one but Swiatek’s relentless precision closed it out convincingly on Court Philippe-Chatrier in just under one hour.
*Jones 1-6, 2-5 Swiatek (* denotes server): Some double faults from Jones; Swiatek digs deep with a backhand return, and Jones’s backhand goes long under pressure. The Pole breaks serve and takes the game.
Another email comes in on Raducanu’s exit yesterday (see 11.16 BST).
Derek Stubbs writes in:
Winning the US Open was the worst thing that could have happened to her. It was obvious at the time that it was a freak result due to the effects of Covid on so many better players. She has spent her life since then trying to live up to a standard which is simply beyond her – hence the injuries, illnesses, and constant change of coaches, to say nothing of the media hype, which has been totally out of proportion to her meagre achievements and talent.
I certainly think media hype and her injuries have not helped and maybe in another era where the women’s game isn’t as strong as it is now, she would be performing better. We’re also seeing more well-rounded players and less surface specialists. Could she have thrived if she homed in on hard court?
Send me an email if you have any thoughts on anything Roland Garros.
Jones 1-6, 2-4 Swiatek* (* denotes server): Swiatek holds to love. She wins it with an ace after zero errors and Jones has no answers.
*Jones 1-6, 2-3 Swiatek (* denotes server): Jones crawls back after two Swiatek unforced errors opened the door and the Australian’s backhand winner sealed the break. She then holds with a crisp serve on game point.
Jasmine Paolini, a finalist here at Roland Garros, gets through her tricky match against Yastremska where after weathering a scrappy first set with five combined breaks, Paolini dominated the second to seal her first-round victory.
Kasatkina also triumphs with a composed 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sonmez. Both sets featured lively break exchanges, but after Sonmez’s early break for 3-1 in the second, Kasatkina fought back brilliantly, three breaks to two, for the win.
Jones 1-6, 0-2 Swiatek* (* denotes server): The world No 3 wins the opening two games of this set. The unforced errors are pilling up for Jones.
Huge upset as the Paris 2024 Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, who won on gold on these courts, is out in the first round after losing to the Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-4, 6-0.
We will bring you the quotes from both players when they come.
Some scores from across the grounds:
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Paolini 7-5, 5-3 Yastremska
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De Minaur 6-4, 6-4, 1-1 Samuel
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Kasatkina 6-4, 5-4 Sonmez
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Van Assche 6-4, 4-2 Gaubas
Swiatek takes the first set 6-1 against Jones
Swiatek holds to love and takes the set with a clinical finish – three Jones forehand errors and a body-serve ace wrapped it up in four swift points.
The Pole takes the first set by breaking Jones three times. Jones grabbed one break but Swiatek’s groundstrokes dominated throughout.
*Jones 1-5 Swiatek (* denotes server): Swiatek is making it look so easy now. Jones never found her footing with three unforced errors surrendered a 0-40 deficit and Swiatek converted at the first opportunity.
Jones 1-4 Swiatek* (* denotes server): Quick game as Swiatek’s only mistake is a double fault to make it 30-15. Another forehand winner and she holds.
*Jones 1-3 Swiatek (* denotes server): Jones is trying to vary her shots and she hits a good slice but Swiatek is beating the teenager with two forehand winners for two break points. A rally of 10 shots follows and another Swiatekforehand winner gives her the break.
Jones 1-2 Swiatek* (* denotes server): Better from Jones. Six shots of baseline exchanges, and Jones finishes it off with a forehand winner past Swiatek to make 30-15 in her favour. Swiatek’s backhand then goes long after 11 shots between the pair. However Swiatek crawls back and takes it to deuce. The pair exchange advantages for a while but Jones strikes and gets the break back with a forehand winner.
*Jones 0-2 Swiatek (* denotes server): Swiatek breaks Jones at love. Three break points at 0-40, sealed with a crushing forehand winner.
Jones 0-1 Swiatek* (* denotes server): Swiatek takes the first game with relative ease, a dominant hold to love. Jones hit three unforced errors as Swiatek’s groundstrokes controlled every rally.
My early prediction is that I am worried this might get ugly. Again, Jones has never played a senior clay court match. Not even a qualifier or a warm up tournament. This is such a big ask.
I will be focusing on the Jones v Swiatek match but will bring you updates across the courts in between. For now, a quick email from Rob:
Watching Raducanu was just sad yesterday. I don’t think anyone can take her slam away from her but it is looking more and more like that was just a freak result that will never happen again.
Do you have any thoughts on Raducanu’s exit? Or any predictions for today’s matches? I want to hear them. Get in touch via email.
Alex De Minaur takes the first set 6-4 against Toby Samuel. The eighth seed broke the Briton in the fifth game after a grueling 23-shot rally, held off a break-back, and sealed it with a 193km ace.
Iga Swiatek kicks off her bid for a fifth French Open title on Court Philippe-Chatrier against the Australian teenager Emerson Jones. Jones has never played on clay at the WTA level – what a challenge this is going to be.
Jasmine Paolini takes the first set against Dayana Yastremska. The Italian holds to love with four clean points to make it 6-5 with Yastremska’s returns kept finding the net or sailing long. In the final game the two traded breaks throughout, but a crucial 0-40 break in the final game sealed it for the 13th seed.
Day two order of play
Here is today’s order of play on the main courts.
Court Philippe-Chatrier
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Emerson Jones v (3) Iga Swiatek
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Veronika Erjavec v (2) Elena Rybakina
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(32) Ugo Humbert v Adrian Mannarino
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Hugo Gaston v Gael Monfils
Court Suzanne-Lenglen
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(22) Arthur Rinderknech v Jurij Rodionov
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(7) Elina Svitolina v Anna Bondar
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Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah v (6) Amanda Anisimova
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Daniel Merida v (5) Ben Shelton
Court Simonne-Mathieu
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(13) Jasmine Paolini v Dayana Yastremska
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Stan Wawrinka v Jesper de Jong
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(15) Casper Ruud v Roman Safiullin
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Anastasia Zakharova v (10) Karolina Muchova
Before we get to today’s action, a recap on what went down on day one. An emotional Emma Raducanu was at a loss to explain her horror start at the French Open as she crashed to a first opening-round loss.
The British No 1 failed to win a game in a one-sided opening set against Argentina’s Solana Sierra, hitting zero winners and making 15 unforced errors. Raducanu looked like she could be heading for one of the worst defeats of her career when she trailed 4-1 in the second set but she found a belated foothold, fighting back to force a tie-break before losing 6-0 7-6 (4).
“It was difficult,” said the 23-year-old, who made 42 unforced errors in total. “I don’t think I’ve fully processed it yet, so it’s hard to speak about the match right now.
“But I have to at least take the fact that, from a set and 4-1 down, I came back and made it competitive in the second set. I’m pretty disappointed. Obviously, I wanted to do better.
“I went on the court, I felt like the conditions were extremely lively and I felt like I wasn’t able to trust my shots and didn’t feel like I had control over the ball. I think probably just a bit light on matches, a bit light on confidence coming into the tournament.
“The first set happened super quickly, and it’s not a nice feeling when the points and the games are going very, very fast. I’m glad at least in the second set I was able to get a few games on the board.”
Elsewhere, tears of joy flowed for Fran Jones after a long-awaited first grand slam victory at the French Open. The 25-year-old Briton has had a torrid year, with a leg injury and concussion keeping her off the court and pushing her back outside the Top 100, and she could not contain her emotions after battling from a set down to defeat former semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia 1-6 7-6 (4) 6-2.
“Normally I’m one to say you shouldn’t cry until the tournament is over but I think, everything I’ve been through this year, it’s really been challenging,” said Jones. “I know I’m dangerous on this surface. I know I’ve not been on my best form, but it gives you belief.”
Preamble
Bonjour! The sun is shining in Paris and day two of Roland Garros brings a packed slate of opening-round action with the biggest stars beginning their campaigns across the courts.
Iga Swiatek opens her title bid against Emerson Jones, with the world No 3 expected to set the standard on her favourite surface where she has won four grand slams. Elena Rybakina is also in action, hoping to follow up her Australian Open victory with a strong showing on the clay. Katie Boulter also takes the court, hoping to equal and eventually go beyond her best finish in Paris – the second round.
Rafael Jodar’s rise this year has been one of the storylines of the season so far with the young Spaniard being seeded at the French Open after being ranked outside the world’s Top 700 not too long ago. He faces the fast-paced Aleksandar Kovacevic. Ben Shelton faces another young Spaniard in Daniel Merida while the former champion Stan Wawrinka takes on Jesper de Jong in his final season on tour.
So much action, so much to look forward to. Join me.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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