By Geoffrey Latayan
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, the world’s top two women’s tennis players, will meet in the final of the 2025 French Open at Roland Garros.
This comes after they outclassed their respective opponents in the semi-finals on Thursday to arrange a winner-take-all duel on Saturday.
Sabalenka ends Swiatek’s French Open streak
World No.1 Sabalenka beat defending champion Iga Swiatek in three sets, 7-6 (7/1), 4-6, 6-0, to make her first final in the clay-court Grand Slam.
The Belarusian ended the Polish netter’s dominance on the demanding clay surfaces of Roland Garros by halting her 26-match winning run at the event.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka edged Swiatek in a tough first set that featured eight breaks of serve in a tie-break before the Polish star bounced back in the second set to level the match.
The finale turned out to be anti-climactic, though, with Swiatek succumbing to 12 unforced errors in the third set while gaining only six points against the three-time Grand Slam winner.
Sabalenka will now aim for her fourth Grand Slam title and her first on clay.
She won her first three crowns on hard courts – at last year’s US Open and back-to-back at the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024.
READ MORE: Tennis news: From wildcard to semi-finalist – Lois Boisson’s inspiring French Open run
Gauff stops Boisson’s fairytale run
World No.2 Gauff, meanwhile, brought 361st-ranked Lois Boisson back down to earth, winning 6-1, 6-2 in the second semi-final on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Despite the mostly French crowd supporting her, Boisson failed to summon the magic that had enabled her to conquer third-seed Jessica Pegula and world No.6 Mirra Andreeva in the previous two rounds.
The 2023 US Open champion, a finalist at the French Open in 2022, silenced the hometown crowd with a forceful display of shot-making and ruthless aggression.
Boisson, who succumbed to 33 unforced errors, briefly raised the French fans from their slumber by breaking back in the second set, only to immediately surrender it straight back.
Gauff then clinically finished the job after just 69 minutes on court to book her spot in a second French Open final.
The 21-year-old will be looking to erase that stinging and emotional defeat to Swiatek in the 2022 final but will have her hands full against the taller and more powerful Belarusian.
Gauff and Sabalenka are level at 5-5 in their head-to-head record and have one win apiece at major tournaments.
However, Sabalenka will be the favourite to lift the trophy when she takes on Gauff, who famously beat the top seed in the 2023 US Open final.
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James Mario Ajero 
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Simon Wilkes