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Danielle Collins admitted feeling anxious about addressing retirement questions at the 2024 French Open. In other news, Stefanos Tsitsipas accused Carlos Alcaraz of hindering his performance with grunting at the French Open quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Casper Ruud received pushback online for calling Novak Djokovic the second-best clay-court player ever after Rafael Nadal. Djokovic's 2024 Wimbledon Championships participation is reportedly in doubt due to surgery after French Open knee injury.
Also, Coco Gauff spoke out against the French Open's poor scheduling following Novak Djokovic's knee injury withdrawal. Nick Kyrgios joked about the WTA Tour’s lack of depth in light of Aryna Sabalenka’s Grand Slam success.
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On that note, here's a recap of today's top tennis news:
Danielle Collins confesses her fears of facing retirement questions at the French Open
Danielle Collins shared that she plans to focus on her personal life following her French Open exit in the second round to Olga Danilovic 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4.
With her retirement set for the end of the season, Collins shared on Instagram that while she enjoyed playing recently, questions about her retirement have been mentally taxing.
“This pumped about finally getting a break. After 6 months of playing a tournament almost every week, I can finally take some time to relax and recover. In the beginning of the season, it was a goal of mine to qualify for the Olympics. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen. I am very proud of my success over the last six months. With all of the attention around my retirement at the end of the year, the last couple weeks have been really challenging for me,” Collins wrote.
“I have found myself playing some of my best tennis but I have also found myself really dreading going into work and crying daily. The conversations with media around explaining my health challenges, being asked over and over again to justify my success, and constantly being questioned about retiring and wanting to start a family have been really draining,” the 30-year-old added.
Stefanos Tsitsipas complains about Carlos Alcaraz’s grunts in French Open QF
Stefanos Tsitsipas raised concerns, about Carlos Alcaraz's grunts, to the chair umpire during their French Open quarterfinal match.
In the second set tiebreaker, Tsitsipas requested the umpire to consider a hindrance call due to Alcaraz's grunts. After the set ended, Tsitsipas reiterated his complaint, expressing frustration that he could hear Alcaraz grunting whenever he was about to hit his shots.
“I never complain about this but it’s frustrating. When I’m about to hit the shot… and moments before I hit the shot, I still hear the grunt. It’s not during the shot, it’s right before,” Tsitsipas said.
Carlos Alcaraz went on to win the match 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-4 to advance to the semifinals, where he will face second seed Jannik Sinner on June 7.
Casper Ruud sparked debate online by calling Novak Djokovic the 2nd-best claycourter ever after Rafael Nadal
Casper Ruud stirred debate by declaring Novak Djokovic as the second-best clay-court player ever after Rafael Nadal. Following his French Open fourth-round win against Taylor Fritz, Ruud praised Djokovic's clay prowess, placing him close to Nadal despite Bjorn Borg's six French Open titles.
“Yeah, well, you can definitely argue that he's the second-best clay court player of all time. I mean, obviously Borg has more titles here than him, but Novak was always close, he always pretty much reached the final and ended up losing to Rafa. And I lost to him last year in the final," Casper Ruud said in a post-match press conference.
However, Ruud's opinion prompted disagreement among fans, who voiced their differing perspectives on X (formerly Twitter).
Casper Ruud received a walkover victory before his quarterfinal match against Novak Djokovic, as he withdrew due to knee Injury. The Norwegian will face south seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinal on June 7.
Novak Djokovic reportedly set to miss Wimbledon Championships due to surgery after French Open knee injury
Novak Djokovic is reportedly set to miss the 2024 Wimbledon Championships (July 1-14) due to a medial meniscus tear in his right knee sustained during the French Open fourth round 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Argentine Francisco Cerundolo.
Djokovic decided to undergo surgery after withdrawing from his quarterfinal match against Casper Ruud. According to L'Equipe, the surgery's recovery time is estimated at three weeks, making Djokovic's absence from Wimbledon likely.
Coco Gauff blames the French Open late scheduling for Novak Djokovic's injury withdrawal
Coco Gauff condemned the late-night scheduling at the French Open after Novak Djokovic had to play till 3 am for his fourth-round match against Francisco Cerundolo.
In a post-match press conference, Gauff mentioned that she saw Djokovic struggling during his match against Cerundolo but did not expect him to withdraw from the tournament.
"I watched this match against the last, like, two sets or three sets against Francisco Cerundolo. And Yeah. I mean, I saw that he was obviously physically struggling and I honestly thought, I think everybody thought, well not everybody, but I thought he was on the verge of losing," she said.
Gauff suggested that the late timing and the lengthy duration of the match match likely contributed to Djokovic's injury and subsequent withdrawal.
"And I don't know something about him and I thought when you get through a match like that, that he would win the title but um, obviously I feel like I don't want to put any words in his mouth, but I think it probably came just from the late start," the youngster said.
"And it was unfortunate that he had to, you know, the matches went five sets back to back," she continued. "So I think it was just a combination of those two things."
Coco Gauff reached the semifinal of the clay-court Major for the second time in her career, where she will face top seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek on June 6.
Nick Kyrgios takes a dig at WTA Tour’s lack of depth after Aryna Sabalenka’s unbeaten run at Grand Slams
Nick Kyrgios ridiculed the level of competition on the WTA tour after Aryna Sabalenka won 22 consecutive sets in the Grand Slam matches this season so far.
An X (formerly Twitter) account highlighted the stats about the Belarusian after she beat Emma Navaro 6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 16, securing her eleventh Major win in a row.
Nick Kyrgios shared his thoughts on the post on X and wrote:
"Depth."
Aryna Sabalenka, unfortunately, couldn't maintain her streak for long as she lost 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 to the Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the French Open quarterfinals.
