Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff dance-off French Open feud ahead of Wimbledon
Just weeks after their tense showdown in the French Open final, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff appear to have hit the reset button — not with a handshake, but with a TikTok dance.The duo, currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world respectively, were seen outside Centre Court at Wimbledon recording a lighthearted TikTok video ahead of the 2025 Championships. In the video, posted by Gauff — who is a regular on the platform — the pair lip-synced to a trending audio clip saying, 'OK, guys, we're back. Did you miss us? 'Cause we missed you.'advertisementTheir playful off-court moment suggests that the friction from Roland Garros may have eased. The pair also practiced together on Centre Court, further hinting that any lingering tensions had been put to rest ahead of the year's third Grand Slam, which begins Monday at the All England Club.Watch the video:Pretty iconic #Wimbledon | @SabalenkaA | @CocoGauff pic.twitter.com/biHPvsSaBR— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 27, 2025
The two were last seen facing off in the French Open final on June 7. Sabalenka had taken the first set in a tight tie-break but eventually lost 7-6, 2-6, 4-6 to Gauff, who claimed her maiden Grand Slam title on clay.However, the aftermath of the match took a turn when Sabalenka, visibly emotional, stated that she felt the loss had more to do with her own unforced errors than Gauff's performance. Her comments sparked backlash online, with many fans calling them dismissive of Gauff's victory.advertisementFollowing the criticism, Sabalenka later clarified her comments and acknowledged that her emotions had gotten the better of her after a tough defeat — her second Grand Slam final loss of the year. She also addressed the reaction on social media, noting that she had not intended to downplay Gauff's achievement.The Wimbledon video, however, has quickly gone viral, offering a lighter image of two of the sport's biggest stars who appear to be moving forward — not just professionally, but personally as well. For fans, it's a welcome sight: two elite athletes capable of fierce rivalry on court and camaraderie off it.With the draw full of anticipation and both players likely to contend deep into the tournament, their renewed connection will be one of many subplots to watch as Wimbledon 2025 unfolds.- Ends
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First Post
21 minutes ago
- First Post
If Djokovic has another Slam title left in him, it can well be Wimbledon this year
Novak Djokovic is still chasing history at the age of 38. He already has 24 Grand Slam titles under his belt and is looking to win another one. As Wimbledon 2025 nears, we look at why Djokovic might still have one last Slam left in him. read more Roger Federer won his last Grand Slam title – the 2018 Australian Open - at the age of 36. Rafael Nadal won his last Grand Slam title – the 2022 French Open – at the age of 36. There is only one member of the 'Big 3' club who is still an active tennis player. He is currently 38 years old and he won his last Grand Slam title – the 2023 US Open – at the age of 36. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Djokovic still believing at 38 Over a span of 15 years (2008 to 2023), Novak Djokovic managed to do what neither Federer nor Nadal could – get to the magic number of 24 Grand Slam titles – the all-time record held, for the longest time solely, by Margaret Court (pre and post Open Era combined). The big question though is – can Djokovic pull one last rabbit out of the hat and go past the Swiss Maestro and the Spanish Matador one more time and win a Grand Slam title after the age of 36? I still distinctly remember the Sunday when Novak Djokovic won his first Grand Slam title. It was the 2008 Australian Open final and Djokovic was playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. A potential Federer vs Nadal final had not materialised, with both stalwarts faltering at the semi-final stage. After that title win at the Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic didn't win a Slam title till 2011 (a year in which he won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open). Needless to say, in the interim, many experts felt the 2008 Aussie Open title was just a flash in the pan. That was 17 years ago. Little did I or anyone else watching and tracking the Australian Open final of 2008 realise that in these 17 years the Serb who first made his presence felt as quite the disruptor in men's singles tennis, would go onto become the joint most successful tennis player of all time (Tied with Margaret Court). With as many as 24 Grand Slam singles titles to his name, outstripping Federer and Nadal (something which back in 2008, even after the Aussie Open title win, no one would have thought to be even remotely possible), the name Novak Djokovic is an immortal one. But he is still choosing to play on. And can you really point any fingers, considering he is still making semis and finals cuts at the Slams? What experts are saying At the recently concluded French Open, where Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in a final that could well challenge the 2008 Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal, as the best men's singles Slam final ever played, Djokovic made it all the way to the semi-finals, eventually losing to Sinner. The Serb didn't drop a single set in his first four matches at Rolland Garros this time, beating much younger opponents. That statistic changed only in the quarter-final where he beat Alexander Zverev, seeded three places above him and the 2024 runner-up, in four sets (4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4). Not bad for a 38-year-old, eh? I spoke to former India singles tennis player, Somdev Devvarman, who played all four Grand Slams, recently and Som was clear that Djokovic was right up there, in terms of quality, at the year's second Slam, this time. 'You have to remember that the guy (Djokovic) made the Wimbledon finals (in 2024) on one knee and who did he lose to? (in the final) – to Carlos Alcaraz. At the French Open also, I think he was better than every single person in the field, except two guys (Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner),' Somdev said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Som backed Djoko's game, there are others who feel it will be impossible for the man once nicknamed 'the Djoker' to win another Slam title. Earlier this year, former French player turned analyst Nicolas Escudé was quoted as saying by Eurosport France – '…yes, he (Djokovic) is on a downward slope. At the beginning of the year (2025), we already asked ourselves the question about Novak Djokovic and, in my opinion, I don't see him winning a Grand Slam anymore; it's far too complicated for him…' It's understandable that some people, like Escude, feel that the greatest men's player of all time will not hold Slam silverware ever again in his career. The number one reason for that is of course age. It catches up with everyone, doesn't it? And hand-in-hand with age comes declining physical prowess. We saw Rafa Nadal carrying on, hoping against hope and playing through multiple injuries and physical setbacks, trying to win that elusive 23rd Slam title. But he couldn't. Federer realised after his third knee surgery in August 2021, that the writing was on the wall. He announced his retirement a year later. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Djokovic tore his meniscus cartilage (in the knee) at the French Open last year and had to limp off, before subsequently undergoing surgery. Many have cited that as a potential sign that his body will not allow him to go all the way to a Slam title, in other words play seven best of five-set matches. But then, are we forgetting that Djokovic recovered from that surgery in almost miraculous fashion and made it all the way to the final of Wimbledon? Many felt he had done it on one leg! Combine that with what we saw at the French Open this time and all it might take is a couple of results going his way, right? After all, the man is making Grand Slam semi-finals at the age of 38. That is, simply mind-blowing. '…if he (Djokovic) is still going to play at that level, if he is still going to be that highly ranked, if he is going to be that much of a threat, then I wouldn't put it past him (winning another Grand Slam title), because he has made the finals of Wimbledon on one leg,' Somdev Devvarman further said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The biggest reason perhaps that Djokovic's critics feel he won't be able to get to Grand Slam title number 25, is the meteoric rise of the top two players in the world currently, in men's singles - Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The two of them have won the last six Slam titles between them and have undoubtedly left the rest of the 'new generation' pack well behind them. But let us not forget that while Djokovic might not have the legs and overall stamina that the young guns have, he has tons of experience working for him. That coupled with an extremely analytical tennis brain. Don't forget that after a long time of losing to Federer and Nadal, he figured out ways to beat both those legends, at their own game. Have absolutely no doubt about the fact that he is studying Alcaraz and Sinner very, very closely. He might not have that aura of invincibility anymore, but he's still very much there. Waiting. Hoping. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Djokovic's Wimbledon hope If there's one Slam title that Djokovic feels he might still realistically have in his sights, it could well be Wimbledon. He probably doesn't have the physical gumption left to win one more at his favourite Slam – the Australian Open (he has won it a record 10 times – most in the Open Era). In this year's Aussie Open, he managed to beat Alcaraz in the quarter-finals and reach his 12th semi-final at Melbourne Park, but then had to retire in that clash against Zverev, after losing the first set. The grass at SW19 is not as fast as it used to be, because of the way it's maintained mostly, but of course it's faster than what Djokovic is coming off - clay courts - and that suits his current game which doesn't lend itself to very long rallies. Djokovic is also a very strong baseline player and over the years He is also one of the, if not the best, returners of serve in the men's game. And that will hold him in good stead even against big servers, like Sinner – who has modified his serve to make it way more booming and often goes for broke, directing pin-point serves to the body, even on second serve. The road to No. 25 won't be easy There's no doubt that Djokovic's biggest hurdle at Wimbledon will be Alcaraz – the two-time defending champion, who is aiming to become just the second player to win the French Open, the Queen's Club title and Wimbledon in the same year and who some feel is the most complete player on the tour right now. For many, Alcaraz's incredible ability to know For some experts, including Somdev, Alcaraz is already an all-surface great. Sinner hasn't managed to do carve out a niche for himself on the grass of SW19 yet, with his best performance so far there being a semi-final appearance (2023), but that doesn't mean Djokovic will have it easy against the 6-foot-3-inch-tall Italian. This time, Djokovic and Sinner are in the same half of the Wimbledon draw, which means they could potentially face-off in the semi-finals. As per the draw, in the quarters, Djokovic could face British World Number 3, Jack Draper. Alcaraz is on the other side of the draw and will be the favourite to win complete a hat-trick of titles. Though the Spaniard has almost seamless made the transition from clay courts to grass – winning the French Open and then the Queen's title - what is he slips up? STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'What if the other guys (Alcaraz and Sinner) lose? A lot of things can happen. So, I would say he (Djokovic) is still very much in the hunt, but obviously time is ticking,' said Somdev. Remember what the man himself said? 'Wimbledon is next, which is my childhood favourite tournament. I'm going to do everything possible to get myself ready. I guess my best chances maybe are [at] Wimbledon or a faster hard court, maybe Australia or something like that.' Djokovic has achieved everything that there is to achieve. He even ticked off the box of 100 career titles by playing and winning a third-tier event in Geneva in May to join an exclusive club, which has only Jimmy Connors (109 titles) and Federer (103 titles) as the other members. But he will be thinking of a few more milestones. One more Wimbledon title will see him equal Federer's record of eight titles. It will also see him go past Margaret Court as the sole record holder of most singles Slam titles, with 25. He might have mellowed with age, but finishing on top of the pile has perhaps always been the biggest ambition that fuels his fire. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After all, when he was on Slam title number 16, with Federer on 20 and Rafa on 18, this is what he had said ahead of the 2019 US Open, when asked about his desire to be the all-time most successful player: 'It does also put a certain level of responsibility on me as well, because I am, you know, aiming to do that (become the player with the maximum Slam titles)…It's definitely one of my ambitions and goals, if you want.'
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
How Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner leapfrogged the generation after Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to conquer tennis
When Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner slugged it out for hours at the Roland Garros final in Paris last month, aside from the quality of play, the intensity of shot-making deep into the fifth set and sheer unpredictability, another aspect became strikingly clear. Sinner-Alcaraz have lapped an entire generation of tennis players, leaving them squished between two eras of dominance. In the first Grand Slam final between two men born in the 2000s, Alcaraz, 22, saved three match points to beat 23-year-old Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) at the French Open, two weeks ago. The quality of the match was such that player-turned-analyst John McEnroe told TNT Sports: 'I'm saying Sinner and Alcaraz against (Rafael) Nadal on clay—you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favoured to beat Nadal at his best." It was expected that when the greatest generation of male tennis players, including Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic, leave the sport, the next gen to take over would be the one immediately after. Mathematically, it meant players born in the 1990s, after the Big Three, who are all children of the 1980s. Federer quit the sport in 2022, Nadal last year. Djokovic is battling it out a little longer, while chasing his 25th Grand Slam singles title. But his fiercest challengers are 15 years or more younger, while it looks increasingly likely that the 1990s generation would simply miss the boat or—to use a tennis analogy—miss their shot at it. Also Read Why Rafael Nadal will forever remain the greatest star of French Open Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas—and to a lesser extent Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud—waited in vain for too long, and seem to have been simply left behind. Only Medvedev, 29, has won a Grand Slam, the US Open in 2021 when he denied Djokovic a calendar Grand Slam. Another player, Dominic Thiem, won in New York too in 2020 amid pandemic absentees. But he retired last year, at age 30, having been defeated by injuries and exhaustion from trying to beat the Big Three over the years. The Big Three—Federer, Nadal, Djokovic—won 66 Grand Slams in the space of about two decades in an astonishing domination of the men's game. Peers Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka got a few in between. World numbers one and two, Sinner and Alcaraz, have equally shared the last six Grand Slam titles, looking good enough to continue with the trend, except for Djokovic who still hunts for that elusive Slam which will put him clear of any male or female player ever to get to that number. Even as the products of the 2000s race ahead, the men of the 1990s find it harder and harder to catch up, such has been the evolution in skill, speed and fitness over just a few years. Also Read The Rugby Premier League bets big on speed, power and spectacle For instance, No.11 ranked Medvedev, 29, has a 2-6 win-loss record against Alcaraz and has not beaten him in their last four matches since 2023. He is a more respectable 7-8 against Sinner but has lost the last three times they played. Tsitsipas, down in rankings to 25, has never beaten Alcaraz in six attempts, but is up 6-3 against Sinner. He has been in two Grand Slam finals, 2021 Roland Garros—losing to Djokovic in five sets—and 2023 Australian Open—losing to Djokovic in three. 'I feel like the line-up right now is much more difficult than it was back then (in 2021, when he lost in the French final)," Tsitsipas said in a news conference at this year's Roland Garros. 'Players are so much more mature. Shots have changed. Players have second forehands in this very moment. They are playing with two forehands almost. I have to adapt my game." 'It's growing a lot in intensity and physically it has never been in a position the way it is now. I see constant evolution and constant growth in terms of the sport how players are evolving." 'Tennis was different before Jannik and Carlos came around the corner," he added. Also Read The reason why athletics records are tumbling around the world Zverev has a 4-3 win-loss against Sinner but has lost the two times they have played in the last two years. He is 6-5 against Alcaraz, giving him the best resume against the (new) Big Two. None of these matches have been on grass, and Zverev's numbers on the surface are not his best. For instance, he has never been past the fourth round of Wimbledon, which begins this year on 30 June. He has been in two Grand Slam finals as well, losing to Sinner in straight sets at this year's Australian Open and to Alcaraz at last year's Roland Garros. Ranked third in the world, Zverev is probably best placed to get a major title, though it may not happen next month. 'I wish I didn't have the three greatest players of all time for the first 10 years of my career because I think I would have won one or two Slam by now, but at the same time it was a privilege playing them…" Zverev said in a press conference at this year's French Open. 'Breaking into the top 5, 10 was more difficult back then because (the top) four spots were taken at all time. I don't see that now. Jannik is very dominant, Carlos is very dominant." If Thiem, Medvedev and the others waited for the Big Three to move on before they could have a legitimate chance at winning major titles, they were following a precedent. Ivan Lendl, who was the next-in-waiting to John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg in the early 1980s, lost half-a-dozen times in majors to one of these players till 1985, when the three finished playing. Lendl took five of the next nine Grand Slams. In 2020 itself, Tim Henman, a commentator on BBC, had said that the younger players (referring to the 1990s born) would have to be patient, but 'wary of the younger players coming up behind them," words that have turned out to be prophetic. After losing to Nadal in the 2021 Italian Open, Djokovic had said—perhaps in jest, perhaps scathingly, 'The Next Gen young people? Me, Rafa (Nadal) and Roger (Federer) are reinventing the Next Gen. We are the Next Gen." He may have been partly right, in that their era blurred the lines between generations. Arun Janardhan is a Mumbai-based journalist who covers sports, business leaders and lifestyle. Also Read Reliving India's historic 1975 Hockey World Cup win
India Today
9 hours ago
- India Today
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff dance-off French Open feud ahead of Wimbledon
Just weeks after their tense showdown in the French Open final, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff appear to have hit the reset button — not with a handshake, but with a TikTok duo, currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world respectively, were seen outside Centre Court at Wimbledon recording a lighthearted TikTok video ahead of the 2025 Championships. In the video, posted by Gauff — who is a regular on the platform — the pair lip-synced to a trending audio clip saying, 'OK, guys, we're back. Did you miss us? 'Cause we missed you.'advertisementTheir playful off-court moment suggests that the friction from Roland Garros may have eased. The pair also practiced together on Centre Court, further hinting that any lingering tensions had been put to rest ahead of the year's third Grand Slam, which begins Monday at the All England the video:Pretty iconic #Wimbledon | @SabalenkaA | @CocoGauff Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 27, 2025 The two were last seen facing off in the French Open final on June 7. Sabalenka had taken the first set in a tight tie-break but eventually lost 7-6, 2-6, 4-6 to Gauff, who claimed her maiden Grand Slam title on the aftermath of the match took a turn when Sabalenka, visibly emotional, stated that she felt the loss had more to do with her own unforced errors than Gauff's performance. Her comments sparked backlash online, with many fans calling them dismissive of Gauff's the criticism, Sabalenka later clarified her comments and acknowledged that her emotions had gotten the better of her after a tough defeat — her second Grand Slam final loss of the year. She also addressed the reaction on social media, noting that she had not intended to downplay Gauff's Wimbledon video, however, has quickly gone viral, offering a lighter image of two of the sport's biggest stars who appear to be moving forward — not just professionally, but personally as well. For fans, it's a welcome sight: two elite athletes capable of fierce rivalry on court and camaraderie off the draw full of anticipation and both players likely to contend deep into the tournament, their renewed connection will be one of many subplots to watch as Wimbledon 2025 unfolds.- Ends
