Roland Garros star makes history as only the sixth player in Open Era to set a new tournament record
A French Open star has just become only the sixth player in the Open Era’s history to set an amazing record at Roland Garros. The second Grand Slam of the year is now in its second week, with the women’s singles semi-finals happening on Thursday and the men’s matches on Friday.
There have been some big surprises so far, as ATP world number one Jannik Sinner and the defending women’s champion Coco Gauff were both knocked out early. In the women’s singles, we’ll have a first-time Grand Slam winner since world number one Aryna Sabalenka lost in the quarter-finals to Diana Shnaider.
More history was made in the doubles competitions, too. Italy’s Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori won the mixed doubles final on Thursday, beating Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and USA’s Evan Klug 4-6, 6-3, (10-4). This victory means Errani, 39, has won the French Open mixed doubles title two years in a row. She also reached the women’s singles final back in 2012.
Errani made a big splash in 2025 by winning the women’s doubles with her partner and player she coaches, Jasmine Paolini. She was close to making history again in 2026, but Paolini had to pull out of the doubles because of a foot injury and lost early in the singles too. Still, Errani became just the sixth woman in the Open Era to win both the mixed and women’s doubles titles at Roland Garros in back-to-back years. The others who did this are Francoise Durr, Martina Navratilova, Fiorella Bonicelli, Venus Williams, and Virginia Ruano Pascual.
Ruano Pascual, who has won the women’s doubles at Roland Garros six times, won both mixed and women’s doubles in 2001 and then won the women’s doubles again in 2002. Errani was already one of only five women to win both doubles events in the same year, joining Durr, Ruano Pascual, Wendy Turnbull, and Anne Smith.
Errani retired from singles last year after reaching a career-high ranking of number five. She has won 36 doubles titles, including the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics with her partner Paolini.
After winning the mixed doubles with Vavassori on Thursday, Errani said, “I’m still living this never-ending dream. This court is amazing. My dreams have come true here. Andrea, you’re my best friend, and sharing this with you is incredible. I’m having so much fun playing with you—you’re awesome!”