Emptying the French Open Notebook

Odds and ends from 2025 Roland Garros, including Sabalenka, Gauff, TNT, and much more.

The Roland Garros logo somewhere on the grounds. (Photo via FFT)

Bonjour again, folks!

I have been working on this notebook column of various assorted thoughts, miscellany, and so on from Roland Garros. But after flying home from Paris to Washington on Monday, I was admittedly pretty wiped and hit a wall.

I’ve been a happy and satisfied sort of dead-tired, though. I just tallied it up: I wrote more than 50,000 words on Bounces during my three weeks in Paris, which is a whole, whole lot (more than half of a decently long book, for reference).¹

All of that daily writing was exhausting, but also a ton of fun, because I was getting to tell the stories I wanted to during a major, and because the reaction and reception from readers and subscribers to those stories were great.

This was the second major I did for Bounces since it launched late last year, and as you can see from the recent spike—and the spike during January’s Australian Open—the majors are clearly what moves the needle here for new Bounces subscribers.

A hearty merci beaucoup to all of you who subscribed to Bounces during the French Open, and thank you to all of you who might subscribe now, or in the lead-up to Wimbledon, which is right around the corner.

But before switching to grass, there are a few lingering bits of clay dust to sweep up in this notebook column, which I’ve divided up into 14 items:

• Aryna Sabalenka’s less-than-gracious losing and the backlash

• Coco Gauff’s star skyrocketing

• Patrick Mouratoglou’s mutterings on women’s tennis

• What’s next for Naomi Osaka?

• Gauff weighing in on politics from the podium

• Was Alcaraz d. Sinner the greatest major final ever?

• Should Iga Swiatek skip Wimbledon?

• Sara Errani’s double doubles dominance

• The chatter around mixed doubles at the U.S. Open

• Little Legos of legends around the grounds

• A groundbreaking line judge.

• The best media seats in tennis

• The return of Justin Gimelstob

• An update on the Zverev vs. Rothenberg legal saga.

Here we go!

Super Salty Sabalenka Flavors the Sauce

I very intentionally didn’t engage with Aryna Sabalenka’s post-loss saltiness in my writeup of the women’s final on Saturday, instead wanting to keep as much of the focus and oxygen on my end on Coco Gauff and her moment, and the feel-good story that her family is in a sport filled with cautionary tales.

Coco Gauff Inherits the Earth

But now enough time has passed, and I am ready to weigh in on how Sabalenka spoke about this loss in the trophy ceremony and her press conference—as well as all the blowback she received, particularly from stateside sports media.

To keep reading this and more than 4,500 words of this notebook-emptying column, please become a paid subscriber to Bounces! Thanks! -Ben