The 2025 French Open is set for one of its most anticipated matches in recent years, as two of women’s tennis biggest superstars, Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka, will face off in the tournament’s first women’s prime-time night match in three years on Monday. The blockbuster round of 16 clash comes as two unexpected underdogs, Italy’s Flavio Cobolli and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, have already secured their places in the event’s quarter-finals after dramatic four-set and three-set wins respectively.
World number one Sabalenka enters the match still chasing her first ever Roland Garros title, still stinging from her heartbreaking three-set defeat to defending champion Coco Gauff in last year’s final. For Osaka, the match marks a career milestone: this is the first time the four-time Grand Slam champion has advanced to the second week of the clay-court major, and the Japanese star has looked far more comfortable on Paris’ red dirt than ever before during her comeback run.
Monday’s meeting will only be the fourth time the two stars have faced off, and remarkably, every one of their prior matches has come in the round of 16 of elite-level events. Osaka won their first encounter on her way to lifting the 2018 US Open trophy, and the pair did not meet again until this year. Sabalenka has taken both of their 2025 clashes so far: a straight-sets win at Indian Wells, followed by a come-from-behind victory after dropping the opening set at the Madrid Open. The winner of Monday’s match will go on to face either former Australian Open champion Madison Keys or Russia’s rising star Diana Shnaider in the quarter-finals.
Sabalenka struck a warm tone when speaking about Osaka, who stepped away from the tour in 2023 to welcome her first child. “It’s nice to see her,” Sabalenka told reporters. “She’s a great player, great person. I feel like I really enjoy our battles. It’s high-level matches, and I really enjoy when somebody pushes me to the limit.”
After returning to the tour, Osaka struggled to recapture her top form initially, but worked her way back to the US Open semi-finals in 2024, her first deep Grand Slam run since she won her second Australian Open title in 2021. Heading into Paris, she set a new goal of proving her ability on slower surface. “I really wanted to make it a goal to do really well on clay and grass,” she said, noting she has never advanced past the third round at Wimbledon. Off the court, Osaka has turned heads in Paris with her eye-catching sequined gold dress, which she has compared to the glowing Eiffel Tower at night, though she hinted she may change her outfit for the prime-time night match.
The decision to place the clash in the coveted night slot comes after years of criticism of Roland Garros organizers for sidelining women’s matches for prime-time programming. This will mark the first time a women’s match has been scheduled for the primetime night slot since Sabalenka faced Sloane Stephens in the 2024 round of 16. Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo defended the scheduling choice to reporters, saying “I think it was pretty obvious this should be the night’s match.”
In earlier fourth-round action on Sunday, Kalinskaya pulled off a stunning comeback over 28th seed Anastasia Potapova of Austria, ending Potapova’s run after she had upset defending champion Gauff in the prior round. Potapova twice held a chance to close out the match serving, but could not hold on, falling 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (10/7). Kalinskaya will next face either the last remaining home hope Diane Parry or Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska for a place in the semi-finals.
On the men’s side, Italian 10th seed Cobolli overcame a dramatic late collapse to book his spot in the quarter-finals, beating American qualifier Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5) on Court Philippe Chatrier. Cobolli held a comfortable 5-1 lead in the fourth set, but suffered a massive nervous wobble that forced the match to a deciding tie-break. He ultimately held on to reach his second ever Grand Slam quarter-final, following his run at Wimbledon last year.
“The match is never done and today I almost shit in my pants,” a candid Cobolli told reporters after the match. “I’m happy but I’m still nervous.”
The 24-year-old Italian will next face either fourth-seeded Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime or Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo for a place in the semi-finals. Auger-Aliassime is now the highest-ranked player remaining in the top half of the men’s draw after world number one Jannik Sinner was upset earlier in the tournament, and Ben Shelton suffered an early exit. The Canadian will aim to reach his first ever French Open quarter-final when he faces Tabilo, who is playing in the round of 16 of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
The remaining fourth-round matches on the men’s side include a clash between former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, who is targeting his first Grand Slam quarter-final since 2022, and Sinner’s conqueror Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Last year’s quarter-finalist Frances Tiafoe will take on another rising Italian star, Matteo Arnaldi, for a place in the final eight.