The 2025 French Open is heating up amid a lingering Paris heatwave, with Saturday’s third-round play producing one of the most anticipated round-of-16 matchups in recent Grand Slam history, alongside shocking upsets and breakthrough runs that have reshaped both the men’s and women’s draws.
World number one and top women’s seed Aryna Sabalenka kicked off the day’s standout results with a commanding 6-0, 7-5 victory over 53rd-ranked Daria Kasatkina, wrapping up the 76-minute contest to secure her spot in the fourth round. After blitzing through the opening set without dropping a game, Sabalenka found herself in an early break deficit in the second set, but fought back to seal the win. Speaking on court after her victory, the 28-year-old Belarusian credited her resilience through tough moments, as Roland Garros wraps up the final day of a heatwave that has blanketed Paris since the tournament kicked off.
Sabalenka’s win sets up a high-stakes fourth-round showdown with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, a matchup between two players who have each claimed four major titles: two Australian Opens and two US Opens apiece. While Sabalenka has defeated Osaka twice already in the 2025 season, Osaka holds the edge in major meetings—she beat Sabalenka in the same round at the 2018 US Open, the first of her career Grand Slam wins.
Osaka, the tournament’s 16th seed from Japan, earned her place in the fourth round after a grueling three-set battle with 18-year-old American starlet Iva Jovic, 7-6(7/5), 6-7(3/7), 6-4. The match was defined by dominant serving from both players, with the first two sets settled entirely by tiebreaks. Osaka secured the decisive break of Jovic’s serve in the 10th game of the final set to close out the win. The result marks a career milestone for Osaka, who had never advanced past the third round at Roland Garros before this year’s tournament. “I was a lot calmer than in my first matches… In a Slam the further I get the calmer I am. It’s such an honour to be here. It’s the furthest I have ever been here,” Osaka said after her win.
In a politically charged third-round matchup, Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova lost 7-5, 6-1 to Russian opponent Diana Shnaider, after Oliynykova accused Shnaider in pre-match comments of accepting funding from a company that supports Russian war crimes and liking social media posts from pro-war propagandists.
Defending women’s champion Coco Gauff, the tournament’s fourth seed, will look to join Sabalenka and Osaka in the second week when she faces off against Austria’s Anastasia Potapova in Saturday’s later action, targeting a spot in the tournament’s fourth round.
On the men’s side of the draw, the bracket remains wide open after the shocking early exits of top seed Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Italian 10th seed Flavio Cobolli sent a clear message to the rest of the field with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory over American Learner Tien on Court Philippe Chatrier, wrapping up the win in just one hour and 45 minutes. Cobolli, who is now set to face Zachary Svajda for a spot in the men’s quarter-finals, said he is focusing on one match at a time amid widespread talk of a first-time Grand Slam champion this year. “I want to think match by match. That’s the way that I want to think this week,” Cobolli said. “I know that… for sure we will have a new Grand Slam champion, but I don’t want to think about this. For sure I have now another tough match.”
American world number 85 Zachary Svajda continued his dream Grand Slam run, upsetting 25th seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to secure his spot in the second week. The 23-year-old had never advanced past the second round of any major tournament before this year’s French Open, marking his first run into the second week of a Grand Slam.
Saturday’s closing action will see Canadian fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime face off against American 31st seed Brandon Nakashima in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier, while 17-year-old rising French home star Moise Kouame will take on Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo on Court Suzanne Lenglen as he looks to extend his breakout run at the tournament.