Defending champion Gauff out of French Open as Sabalenka sails through | French Open 2026

Coco Gauff’s defence of her French Open crown came to an end against Anastasia Potapova and sixth-seeded Amanda Anisimova also bowed out, but Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, marched on to the fourth round.

Gauff finally met a player in Paris who could match her court coverage in long baseline rallies, as Potapova, seeded 28, won 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4.

“She was able to finish the points and I wasn’t,” Gauff, the No 4 seed, said. “Just not capitalising on certain shots.”

The match was played before mostly empty stands inside Court Philippe Chatrier as French fans stayed away to watch the Champions League final between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.

Gauff’s second grand slam title came with a victory over top-ranked Sabalenka in the final at Roland Garros a year ago.

The 30th-ranked Potapova, who was born in Russia but now represents Austria, improved to 3-2 in her career against Gauff.

Potapova’s impressive clay season has seen her reach a final in Linz, Austria, and the semi-finals of the Madrid Open as a qualifier. Gauff was coming off a run to the Italian Open final, where she was beaten in Rome by Elina Svitolina – another who can match her on long rallies.

“I lost the same way in Rome as I did here,” Gauff said. “You never want to lose the same way back-to-back times.”

When Gauff shanked a forehand wide on Potapova’s first match point, Potapova fell on her back and covered her eyes as she stuck her feet up in the air in celebration. Gauff waved to the crowd and quickly walked off court.

“Coco is such a champion. I respect her so much,” Potapova said. “I’ve been fighting for the last point and here I am.”

It was not a matter of mistakes for Gauff: she hit three double-faults to her opponent’s eight and had 46 unforced errors to Potapova’s 56. It was more that Potapova controlled more in the longer rallies and wore Gauff out.

Anisimova, meanwhile, held a 5-4 lead in the final set with the chance to break Diane Parry but was unsuccessful in her bid to end the match. The two were tied at 3-3 in the tiebreaker before Parry rattled off seven consecutive points to pick up the win in 2 hours and 44 minutes.

“It was really tough for me, because it was really hot, and I’m not feeling my best physically,” Anisimova said. “Didn’t train yesterday, so I was dealing with something. I tried to do my best until the last moment, but I feel like it just was getting worse and worse for me through the match.

“A lot of mistakes. It was just really disappointing for me, but I get it. At the same time, she was playing well, she stayed calm, and she did all the right things. All I can really do is accept that that’s the way it was.”

Parry advanced to the fourth round of a major for the first time in her career. She will face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska, who posted a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Maria Sakkari of Greece.

“We expect that far in a tournament to play a girl in the top 20, so it’s a big opportunity for both of us,” Parry said. “I will try to prepare for the match and recover well to be at 100% and to be able to take this opportunity and go further in the tournament.”

Sabalenka of Belarus breezed to a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Daria Kasatkina of Australia, while the 25th-seeded Diana Shnaider of Russia battled through a tough first set before securing a 7-5, 6-1 win over Oleksandra Oliynykova of the Ukraine.

Sixteenth-seeded Naomi Osaka notched a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-4 triumph over No, 17 Iva Jovic, while 22nd-seeded Anna Kalinskaya of Russia also needed three sets for a 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 win over Camila Osorio of Colombia.