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French Open 2025

Dates: 25 May-8 June Venue: Roland Garros

Three years ago, the image of a distraught Coco Gauff crying under a towel was one of the rawest moments from a one-sided French Open women’s final.

Still a teenager, Gauff cut a lonely figure as she sobbed on her chair in the aftermath of a brutal straight-set defeat by Poland’s Iga Swiatek.

Gauff vowed to come back stronger – and she has.

Winning the maiden Grand Slam trophy of her career at the 2023 US Open to fulfil her prodigious talent was the first step.

And in Paris, the American world number two demonstrated her gritty mindset once again, fighting back from a set down to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka and claim the Roland Garros title.

Reflecting on her 2022 defeat, Gauff, 21, said: “It was a tough time.

“I was doubting myself, wondering if I would ever be able to circumnavigate it, especially my mentality going into that match.

“I was crying before that final and I was so nervous. I was like, if I can’t handle this, how am I going to handle it again?

Gauff is one of the few players who truly transcends the sport.

Film director Spike Lee flew over from New York to sit courtside for the final, while Gauff namechecked rapper Tyler, The Creator and Olympic sprinter Gabby Thomas for inspiring her to victory.

Moments after she beat Sabalenka, Gauff pulled a scrap of paper from her bag.

On it, she had written ‘I will win the 2025 French Open’ as many times as she could fit on a page in her notebook.

The inspiration came from Thomas, who did a similar manifestation before her 200m triumph at last year’s Paris Olympics.

Gauff said a video of Thomas talking about the process reappeared on her TikTok the night before the final.

“It came on my ‘For You’ page again and I felt it was meant to be,” added Gauff.

“I wrote it last night and was looking at myself in the mirror, trying to instil it in my brain, so I had that belief.

There was a time when serious questions were being asked Gauff’s mentality.

With her second serve liable to cough up double faults, and her forehand identified as a weakness, there were debates whether the issues were down to her mentality or technical deficiencies.

Some self-doubt appeared as recently as March, with her coach Jean-Christophe Faurel saying the pair “laid it down on the line” after a last-16 exit at the Miami Open.

Since then, she has won 18 of 21 matches and reached three successive finals in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros.

“In Madrid and Rome, she lost the first set in her opening match. She could have gone out early and people would have said again, ‘Coco can’t win a match’,” Faurel told the French Open website.

“One of her greatest strengths is her mentality. She never gives up.

“She often makes the difference thanks to her strength of character.”

This ability was evident during Saturday’s final in Paris.

Playing in a testing wind, and trailing the dominant player on the WTA Tour, Gauff refused to buckle.

She fought back from 4-1 down to leave the first set hanging in the balance, then improved further in the next two sets as Sabalenka became increasingly frustrated.

“Mentally there is nobody stronger in the women’s game,” British former world number four Greg Rusedski, who was analysing the match for BBC Radio 5 Live, said.

When Gauff first arrived as a 15-year-old phenomenon at Wimbledon in 2019, she played with complete freedom.

Like all young players, difficulties followed as she embarked on a full-time professional career.

Gauff’s run to the US Open title was helped by her team telling her to trust the raw materials she had.

But the maiden Grand Slam singles title did not open the floodgates.

Spanish coach Pere Riba left Gauff’s team shortly after her New York triumph, while Brad Gilbert – a towering character who led Andre Agassi to six major titles – departed at the end of last season.

That led to the return of Faurel, a Frenchman who coached her before her Wimbledon breakthrough.

Gauff did not go beyond a quarter-final in the first four months of this season, leading to a heart-to-heart with Faurel after Miami.

“We had to change something up,” said Gauff.

The pair talked about how she needed to improve her serve and play more aggressively when she could.

When Gauff has made more than 60% of her first serves against Sabalenka, she has won – and she landed 63% in what was her fifth career victory over her.

“She lost her way a bit,” Faurel added.

“She’s not a machine. It’s also partly our fault – there were moments when we probably didn’t do the right things.

Tijjani Reijnders closes in on move to Manchester City, Newcastle United switch attention to try to sign Brighton forward Joao Pedro and Brentford could move for Ipswich Town boss Kieran Mckenna if Thomas Frank leaves.

Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, is due to have a medical at Manchester City on Sunday to finalise his move from AC Milan. (Sky Sports)

Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez has been released from international duty by Hungary as the 21-year-old closes in on a move to Liverpool. (Mirror)

Newcastle United are set to step up their pursuit of Brighton and Brazil forward Joao Pedro, 23, having appeared to have missed out on 25-year-old Cameroon winger Bryan Mbeumo, who is expected to join Manchester United from Brentford. (Telegraph – subscription required)

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is on Brentford’s list of possible candidates to succeed Thomas Frank, who is believed to be a leading option to replace the sacked Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham. (Talksport)

Portugal winger Rafael Leao has told AC Milan he wants to leave the club, who want at least 70m euros (£59m) for the 25-year-old, who is one of the targets being considered by Bayern Munich. (Florian Plettenberg)

Chelsea are set to return with a second bid for France keeper Mike Maignan, 29, after having a first offer, which is considerably short of AC Milan’s asking price, rejected by the Serie A side. (Calciomercato – in Italian)

Juventus have reached an agreement with Paris St-Germain to extend France forward Randal Kolo Muani’s loan spell, in order for the 26-year-old to play for the Serie A side at the Fifa Club World Cup. (Sky Italy)

Napoli’s Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen, 26, has accepted a contract offer from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. (Sky Italy)

Fenerbahce have joined fellow Turkish club Galatasaray in wanting to sign 29-year-old Germany winger Leroy Sane, who has yet to accept the offer of a new deal with Bayern Munich. (Sky Sports Germany)

Bayern Munich have reached a deal with Bayer Leverkusen to sign Germany defender Jonathan Tah, 29, before his contract ends on 30 June so he can play at the Fifa Club World Cup. (Fabrizio Romano)

To have the Lloyd’s Tour of Britain Women back on the road after some troubled times is a blessing for women’s sport.

And two 19-year-old British riders competing in the event and making a significant impact on road cycling globally are explaining who inspired them to take up the sport.

At a luxury hotel on the outskirts of Darlington, Imogen Wolff looks across at two-time Tour of Britain winner Lizzie Deignan, a little uncomfortably, to tell her that the speech she delivered following her momentous 2021 Paris-Roubaix win is the reason she is at a bike race at all.

Alongside her is housemate Cat Ferguson – who leads the Tour of Britain after victory on the third stage and is the current junior road race world champion and rider for the World Tour Movistar team.

“You’re gonna think I’m just saying it because she’s sat next to me but it was genuinely Lizzie’s speech after Roubaix,” says Wolff, who competes for the Visma Lease a Bike team.

“There was like a tagline, ‘the women have a space now and we’re here to stay,’ and it stuck with me.

“I was riding a bike but it didn’t seem very cool, just loads of old blokes doing it. Then after Roubaix I thought ‘this is the coolest thing ever.’ I remember everything about the race… [you] sliding out on that corner; blood on the bar tape. It’s still a running joke with my team-mates when we’re reconning Roubaix, with me telling them ‘this is the moment I fell in love with cycling’.”

Ferguson’s first cycling memory recalls perhaps the other most significant moment in 36-year-old Deignan’s career.

“It was the first [Olympic] medal, at the time I was six,” says Ferguson. “That was my first memory of a big sporting event and I’ve always loved cycling and the Olympics since. I was watching it on telly on holiday.”

“Well, this is great for my ego!” retorts the soon-to-retire Deignan. “I didn’t realise I made cycling cool.

“There’s so many moments in my career girls wouldn’t have been able to watch,” she adds. “It’s difficult to inspire people if they can’t even get to see you. The [silver medal at the] Olympics was one of my first performances people could see [live] [as was] Roubaix.

Just as when she delivered that podium speech in Roubaix, of which she says “there was pressure on that interview”, Deignan chooses her words carefully but effectively here.

The “underestimation” she refers to is any suggestion by others that women’s sport somehow lacks the same punch or power as men’s.

And posts on social media have also had an impact all three agree – and that the impact has been largely positive.

“Social media’s had a huge influence on women’s sport,” says Deignan, who has won many of the sport’s biggest races, including the one-day Tour de France and Liege Bastogne Liege classic.

“If there’s any inequality it’s called out very quickly, and we are able to present ourselves to sponsors off our own backs; people can become their own brand in sport.

“It has its down side – [Cat and Imogen] are under more pressure than ever. People know everything you’re doing and know how you’re performing. But it is worth it as long as you learn how to manage expectation and pressure.”

Ferguson adds that “it doesn’t feel like pressure yet”.

“It’s all so new and exciting,” she says. “Maybe we’ll feel it more as we get older.”

But the pressure comes from all areas, including sometimes the top as she recalls an issue with world cycling’s governing body.

“In my post-race interview in the London 2012 Olympics, I was asked to shake the hand of the UCI president [at the time Pat McQuaid] and I was a little bit annoyed. He was doing nothing for the female side of the sport and was getting away with it.

“I took that opportunity to speak up in the press conference. [As] the first medallist for GB, suddenly you become the headlines – it was quite daunting.

“I’m still happy I did it. It’s the way I’d been brought up. It didn’t seem like a big deal to me to shout about the inequality I was facing.

“But I realise now it’s not as easy for everyone to do that, confrontation isn’t comfortable for everybody.”

“The work Lizzie has done in the sport enabled me and Imogen to have careers,” concurs Ferguson. “Ultimately to get paid when we are 18, [when] I don’t think it was possible for Lizzie to do that when she was 18.

There’s little doubt Deignan lived and breathed the bike, coaching herself and using and an “evidence-based” approach to ensure she never left a stone unturned.

But one of the most important factors of preparation appears to have little to do with being an athlete.

“I hear [Lizzie] speak a lot about being a person off the bike, like not being a cyclist,” says Wolff. “I don’t think a lot of people speak about it – people think to be really pro you have to sleep, eat, train… repeat, so it’s nice to know that different personalities have a different way of working that can be successful, and you don’t have to be this one mould.”

“I tried knitting, once,” she adds, rolling her eyes. “I was so bored.”

“I’ve got loads of interests,” adds Wolff. “Guitar, baking sourdough, learning Dutch [to help communicate with her team-mates].

“But I’m not very good at [sticking with] hobbies when I’m not very good at them, so I don’t find the first bit very… interesting.”

“[Lizzie’s] not just a rider, she’s a really lovely, interesting, intelligent person,” adds Ferguson. “You can tell through watching her race she’s made women’s cycling more than a sport and made people want to race.”

Everybody needs an inspiration to achieve. Deignan may have been first on the scene for Wolff and Ferguson but many in the sport act as inspiration before her, including Beryl Burton and Nicole Cooke.

“A Little bit like [Wolff] I always thought cycling was, not boring… but an old bloke’s sport,” says Deignan. “[Then] seeing Victoria Pendleton, she was entertainment and she was this glamorous, impressive powerful woman, and as a teenage girl I thought ‘oh wow this could be a good sport and I could fit in.

“You can’t be what you can’t see, and she was somebody I identified with.

“I just hope going forwards you demand quality at every turn,” concludes Deignan to Wolff and Ferguson. “You have it now, but keep pushing for it. You’re both incredibly talented and hard-working.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill was proud of the character shown by his players in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly defeat in Denmark.

Northern Ireland made the perfect start when Shea Charles ‘ effort touched off Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and into the net in the sixth minute.

However, Denmark rallied and their pressure was rewarded when the impressive Gustav Isaksen curled home on the stroke of half-time.

The hosts carried that momentum after the restart and took the lead in the 67th minute through Christian Eriksen’s close-range finish.

Substitute Mika Biereth swiftly had a goal ruled out for offside, but O’Neill was pleased with how his young squad soaked up pressure and stayed in the game until the final whistle.

“We showed a lot of character, we stayed in the game at 2-1 which isn’t easy”, he told BBC Sport NI.

The friendly in Copenhagen, and Iceland’s visit to Windsor Park on Tuesday are the final two qualifiers before Northern Ireland begin their World Cup qualifying campaign in September.

They start their bid in Luxembourg and Germany, and also face Slovakia in Group A.

O’Neill said his side “got off to a good start” in Denmark and defended well, but struggled to keep hold of possession and that pressure only intensified in the second half as Denmark dominated the ball.

“It’s a very young team against an experienced team”, O’Neill added, as his 26-strong squad only contained one player over the age of 30 in the form of substitute George Saville.

“Physically it was tough at times for us but overall we got what we wanted out of the game.