Top seed Aryna Sabalenka and four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka on Saturday set up a blockbuster last-16 meeting at the French Open, while defending champion Coco Gauff seeks to join them in the second week.
Sabalenka beat Australia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5 in just 76 minutes to stamp her ticket to the fourth round. After racing through the first set, Sabalenka went an early break down to her 53rd-ranked opponent before battling back.
“I was happy in the tough moments, I never gave up,” she said on court as Roland Garros goes through the last day of the heatwave that has sat over Paris since the beginning of the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka plays a backhand return to Australia’s Daria Kasatkina during their women’s singles match on day 7 of the French Open tennis tournament, on Court Suzanne-Lenglen at the Roland-Garros Complex in Paris, France on May 30, 2026. — AFP
With victory, the Belarusian world number one has set up a meeting with her fellow quadruple major winner, Osaka. Sabalenka and Osaka, both 28, have won two Australian Opens and two US Opens apiece.
