Petit Choux: Wonky Wednesday

Internet ephemera from the tennis world and beyond. Have something you want to include? Join the Discord  – we have a really nice and active community growing there – or hmu on Bluesky.

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Roland Garros 2026: Order of Play | Draws | Live Scores

• Matches I’m keen on for Thursday: Sinner vs. THE BLAZING HOT SUN, Osaka-Vekic, Kouame-Vallejo, Mboko-Siniakova, Jovic-Navarro.
• It’s gonna be another heater. We just got to get to Sunday, boys and girls.

Alright. Let’s get to Wednesday wackiness, which was kinda fun until it wasn’t:

• Magda Linette put an end to the "Jelena Ostapenko Is Iga Swiatek’s Babadook" jokes, by knocking the Latvian out in three sets, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. So instead of the 7th Swiatek-Ostapenko duel – reminder: Jelena is 6-0 — it’ll be a Pole Bowl in the third round.
• Thanasi Kokkinakis couldn’t recover from his physical effort to edge Terence Atmane in Round 1 and had to retire in the third set to Pablo Carreno Busta.
• Yuliia Starodubtseva steeled herself to score the biggest upset of the tournament – though I’m still reeling from Kim Birrell’s win over Pegula last night, too – when she came from a set down to topple No.2 Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 [10-4]. And with that, Swiatek’s two biggest bugaboos on tour are out of her draw.

• Jakub Mensik was cramping on match point of his four-hour tussle with Mariano Navone, which resulted in a whole scene when he finally won after striking a final winner. (The Guardian)

Afterwards, Mensik said he should have been allowed more time to collect himself between points: “Here it’s super-strict which I totally respect, but obviously in this heat and in these conditions it’s insane. The rules are rules, of course, but normally when a spectator will watch, he will be like: ‘OK, give him mercy, five more seconds, 10 more seconds,’ which obviously I didn’t have. I [received a warning and] lost my first serve because of that.”

At the end of a dramatic, extended fifth-set tie-break, Mensik struck a forehand winner to win the match before collapsing on the court. The Czech had to be helped up by medical staff after appearing to suffer from full-body cramps. After leaving the court walking by himself, he was put into a medical wheelchair and escorted back to the locker room. Mensik said he had already begun to feel better and would be ready for Friday’s third-round match against Alex de Minaur, the eighth seed.

• The worst wonk of the day came in Hailey Baptiste’s match against Wang Xiyu. The 26th seed came down on her left leg after striking a leaping forehand and crumpled to the ground crying in pain. Her father leapt over the barrier to get to her before she and Cicak waved him off out of precaution. A physio and medic came out and while Hailey was able to stand up on her own, she was wheeled off in a wheelchair.
• It was a brutal scene that reminded me of Bethanie Mattek Sands’ ACL tear at Wimbledon. Absolutely horrible luck for a player who was in the form of her life. I hate this.

• Wang Xinyu got a code for doing a Martina Hingis and crossing the net to inspect a line call. She contended that Tamara Korpatsch was calling the wrong mark. Basically, Xinyu didn’t appreciate Korpatsch influencing the umpire and then Korpatsch refused to shake hands with her afterwards, taking great umbrage that Xinyu called her a cheat. All I know is it takes A LOT to get a reaction like this out of Xinyu. (The Athletic)

• Add Jasmine Paolini to the seed exodus. Clearly dealing with the foot injury that has also ruled her out doubles, she bowed out to an ever improving Solana Sierra in three sets. There were tears on court and in press. It was sad.
• German press reports Alejandro Davidovich Fokina just up and left him after his first-round match. Like, hopped on a plane to Miami without telling him:

• It’s been a running joke in the press room here that Carole Bouchard is the Grim Reaper, which is funny because she’s not even meaning to be this time! (The Tennis Sweet Spot)

Sometimes a loss is just a loss, but sometimes a loss triggers something more than disappointment, and so it all becomes way too much. It’s always rough to see players break down in tears at press after these losses, but also, most of the time, it’s when they finally let the words out on what’s wrong. The past couple of days, I saw three players crying after a question I asked. Not nice. I felt bad. I swear I didn’t mean to get these tears. But also, somehow, that was a glimpse into what was really going on behind the poker face, and one even thanked me for the chat.

It’s never the goal to make them cry; it’s just that when it happens, it’s often better to let them roll with the flow instead of running away or panicking that you’ve damaged their souls. They’re fine. They’re gonna be just fine. They needed to let it out, and it happened there. It’s okay. I remember Garbine Muguruza having to leave the room in the middle of her press conference here the year she lost against Kristina Mladenovic and a rough crowd. She came back, head high, and finished the job. There’s something about a player refusing to get so overwhelmed that they’ll lose the plot and fail at the job. Also, you often end up learning much more about them when they open up after these losses. Sometimes, tears will flow too much, and there won’t be anything to do; it’s fine too: let them be and let them go. But in my experience, these rough moments are more often than not extremely beneficial for all involved.

US Open Tickets Open With Eye-Popping Prices and Demand

Grounds pass tickets at face value start at $65, but the cheapest resale ticket is about four times more expensive.

Front Office SportsColin Salao

The Body Serve (@thebodyserve.bsky.social)

I know he’s busy, but Mayor Mamdani needs to go after US Open ticket price gouging next my god

Bluesky SocialThe Body Serve

• Alexander Blockx may have edited his Instagram post to delete the scarcastic comment about the tarps that led to his injury, but his coach tells The Athletic that they might look into getting compensation from the FFT.
• Court Simonne-Mathieu really is that girl. It’s a wonderful court and I’m already dreading the FFT eliminating the general admission section to make more money. If you’re at Roland-Garros, head to this court. I think it’s the best No.3 Court in the world not named Pietrangeli. (The Athletic)

Within one year of its construction, fruit plantations, a Roland Garros rose variety, plant walls and more than 123 trees were planted inside the greenhouses surrounding the court. Fans move around the stands via a continuous concrete walkway, gazing up at the greenhouses, which are closed during the tournament. The adjacent botanical gardens remain open to the public.

When it opened in 2019, some urban planners were unmoved by its design, but Court Simonne-Mathieu has become a jewel in the French Open’s crown for its idiosyncrasy and feeling of being a court that fans discover. “The more vegetation the better,” said Genevieve Bourel during an interview near the court, sitting on a wooden bench and looking at the surrounding flora as she took a break from watching the tennis. “It’s very pleasing.”

• I love it when players know their lore:

• And speaking of lore, it’s crazy this was 10 years ago:

• Ava Wallace reports the WTA is pushing for women’s matches to be scheduled in the Roland Garros night session. Here’s what I know: Slams love “discussions” because talk is cheap. Page when the FFT actually DOES something. (The Athletic)
• One other thing to remember: there are a number of marquee WTA stars who absolutely DO NOT WANT that slot. I think this is a tricky tightrope to walk and I worry this whole thing is just being used to score PR points, knowing that absolutely nothing will actually change.
• The RG night slot was flawed at its inception. As such, RG’s bad broadcast contract should not be the women’s problem. As the famous sketch goes, "your poor planning does not constitute my emergency."

• There was a bit of speculation surrounding why Elena Rybakina’s coach, Stefano Vukov, left the court after the first set. A reporter from The Athletic asked Rybakina about it and this was her answer:

"Why I'm not surprised that these questions are coming from you? Yes, he was on the match, and he left because he was feeling really bad for the past few days. So he told me that I might leave, I tried to stay. But he was not feeling great, and it was not a surprise. We talked about it. So nothing from that side."

Tennis Mailbag: Breaking Down the Players’ Media Protest at Roland Garros

Top players participated in the move, bringing attention to their push for a revamped revenue-sharing model with the majors.

Sports IllustratedJon Wertheim

• I spoke to Yuliia Starodubtseva two years ago at the China Open during her remarkable fall run where she made the quarterfinals of Monastir as a qualifier and the Round of 16 as a qualifier in Beijing. The run boosted her into the Top 100 for the first time. The Ukrainian played for Old Dominian and was feeling her way out on tour with her Australian boyfriend, who was also serving as her coach. Two years on, I wanted to know what her current coaching setup was – I heard she was working with veteran WTA coach Eric Hechtman. I wasn’t at all prepared for her answer:

Q.  What does your current coaching setup and team setup look like? I know a few years ago it was kind of just you and your boyfriend doing the thing together. Is it the same? Is it still him? What's the situation?

YULIIA STARODUBTSEVA: I'll tell you a funny thing, actually. My boyfriend is my coach, and he told me if I break through top 50, he'll propose. (Laughter.)

He's getting scared now. (Laughter.) I'm getting close.

• Joao Fonseca came back from two sets to love down to beat Dino Primzic 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. The win sets up a blockbuster showdown against the man Primzic beat in Rome: Novak Djokovic. (ATP)

"About playing Novak, for me it's just a big pleasure. I always talk to my coach, like, I want to be in Novak's draw, because I know it's going to be – it's not going to last too much. I just want to be –

I just want to have this experience in my life."I think I'm just going to enjoy it. I mean, being in Roland Garros, third round, for me it's just a dream. I'm going to enjoy every moment playing against an idol, the GOAT of the sport. Yeah, hopefully I can do a great match.

"Of course, stepping on the court, of course I'm going to respect him, but trying to make my best and win this match."

• If there’s one thing you should know about me, it is this: I’m not ready to make nice, I’m not ready to back down, but I am ready to go to this. (AP)

• Rachael Dratch is a comedy legend and it’s nice that she’s getting some spotlight. (NY Times)
• Bop of the Day: I was told in the FD Discord that people don’t know about this song, which is both a banger and a reminder that identity politics is absolute trash. How is this relevant to tennis? Trust me, it is.