French Open 2025: Sabalenka enters third round, Tsitsipas exits

World number one Aryna Sabalenka started off on the wrong foot before trampling Swiss Jil Teichmann into the French Open dirt with a 6-3, 6-1 win that propelled her into the Roland Garros third round on Wednesday.

Sabalenka began her bid for a maiden Paris crown by dropping only one game against Kamilla Rakhimova in the opening round but the 27-year-old from Belarus faced far more resistance against Teichmann, who grabbed an early break to pile on the pressure.

The tricky left-hander troubled Sabalenka throughout the early part of the opening set but the top seed composed herself and pulled level at 3-3, before breaking her unseeded opponent again in the eighth game and then taking control of the match.

“She started really well and played her best game. It’s always tricky against her,” said Sabalenka. “Her variety is crazy… I was trying to find the rhythm and I’m glad I held my serve from 3-1 down. I got more energy. It was a tough match, she made me work for every point and I’m very happy for this win.”

Earliest exit for Tsitsipas in seven years

Former French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas blamed his own immaturity for a shock second-round loss to qualifier Matteo Gigante of Italy on Wednesday and said he would need to go back to the drawing board to get his career back on track.

The 26-year-old Greek, a six-time Grand Slam semifinalist, was outclassed by his opponent, ranked 167th in the world, in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 defeat for his earliest exit in Paris since 2018. He has now won a meagre two matches in total in his last four Grand Slams.

“I feel like my focus kind of faded away for quite a bit (during the match) and I wasn’t fully present in the moment,” Tsitsipas told a press conference. “I seemed to be playing immature sometimes during the match and obviously I’m not extremely happy about that.

“I would describe that immaturity, not knowing how to handle those situations a little bit more conservative and not so impulsive.”