Gauff and Sabalenka prepare to meet in heavyweight French Open final
Coco Gauff battles Aryna Sabalenka in a heavyweight French Open final that will crown a new women’s champion at Roland Garros.
This is the first time the No 1 and No 2 ranked players in the world have met in a French Open final since 2013, after World No 1 Sabalenka ended Iga Swiatek’s reign in the semi-finals. The 27-year-old from Belarusian is through to her first Roland Garros final, and is aiming to win her fourth grand slam title and first outside of the hard-court tournaments.
The 21-year-old Gauff is playing in her second French Open final after falling to a one-sided defeat to Swiatek in the 2022 title match. Gauff defeated Sabalenka to win her first grand slam title in the US Open final in 2023, and is aiming to become the first American to win the Roland Garros title since Serena Williams won the last of her three in 2015.
Gauff said: “My first final here I was super nervous, and I kind of wrote myself off before the match even happened. Obviously here I have a lot more confidence just from playing a grand slam final before and doing well in one.” Sabalenka added: “I’m ready to go out, I’m ready to fight, and I’m ready to do everything it’s going to take to get the win.”
Follow live updates and scores from the French Open final below
Trump and Musk spat is turning them into losers in every way
The boys are going at it. Like two heavies in the playground, the once richest man on Earth and one who thinks he is the most powerful are locked in a scrap. It’s a bloke thing. Not long ago, the former bros used to spark off each other, rib each other while jointly belittling everyone else. Now the jocks, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, are grappling and so closely entwined were they and the organisations they lead, there can be no winner.
It’s possible that peace may prevail, but for how long? They’ve repeatedly raised the ante, which in male lore means backing down and letting bygones be bygones will be difficult.
The fallout will hit them both. Trump says that Musk and his companies receive “billions and billions of dollars” in government subsidies and contracts. He could cut them. “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
One estimate puts the total that Musk’s two main businesses, SpaceX and Tesla, receive in public benefits at $38bn (£28bn). SpaceX president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, has said its tally alone is $22bn. The exact combined figure may never be known because many of the deals between Musk’s firms and Washington are classified.
For his part, Musk is the heaviest donor to the Republicans, giving $200m to the GOP. There was more. Musk said he would support Maga candidates in local primaries, to the tune of $10m a pop, against sitting Republicans, should they dare to oppose Trump.
Meanwhile, Musk’s space rockets fly Nasa astronauts to the orbiting shuttle – without that service, the Americans would have to do the diplomatically unthinkable and seek the wholesale assistance of Russia and its Soyuz vehicles. It’s likely the love-in was always destined to fail. Trump demands complete adulation, any dissenters are quickly shown the door. Musk, for all his admiration of the president, disagreed with him profoundly on a number of key issues.
In order for his companies to stay ahead and to keep reinventing and innovating, Musk must attract the best brains. Whatever Trump alleges, they do not all exist in America, Musk needs to draw talent from overseas. That ran up against Trump’s anti-immigration policy. Musk is a renewable energy evangelist, he made his name with the high-performance Tesla electric car. Trump is anything but, clinging to the belief that fossil fuels still rule and have a future.
Likewise, Musk’s products rely on imported parts and materials. Trump has kiboshed global supply lines and delivered large-scale uncertainty with his adherence to new tariffs.
Musk’s position on these was well known. He said so, and Trump tolerated him. After all, he was doing the White House’s bidding on Doge, slashing perceived governmental waste. Trump was happy for him to take the rap, to be the fall guy or poster boy, depending on how it was viewed. Musk’s Maga popularity may have soared, but among his investors and consumers, it plummeted.
Both men are characterised by a stubborn refusal to climb down and a belief in their own might. Musk pressed on, regardless. They also speak their minds, as they find, again, convinced of their own brilliance. There was so much that Trump was prepared to forgive, but it was when Musk openly criticised Trump’s central tax bill that the gloves finally came off. It is a priority of Trump’s second term, and the measure requires congressional Republican backing to get through. By hailing it a “disgusting abomination”, Musk was sowing doubt among possible GOP waverers, and that simply would not do. The new distance between them was noticed, and the rot set in. Musk was exiting the building.
The president exhibited his usual pettiness, so what sent Musk ballistic was when an ally had his nomination to run Nasa withdrawn. That pal, Jared Isaacman, came out and said he was a victim of revenge – his nomination was revoked on the very day that the “first buddy” was saying his White House goodbyes.
Far from damping down the speculation as to why his appointment was suddenly off, Isaacman raised it. “I mean, people can draw their own conclusions, but I think the directions people are going in seems to check out to me,” he said.
Isaacman was not any other candidate – the billionaire had been a close collaborator with Musk ever since he led the first chartered passenger flight on SpaceX in 2021. Musk, understandably, was riled. Now it was personal.
Since then, we’ve been treated to the spectacle of gladiatorial combat, albeit resorting to childish insults as weapons. But each man has plenty to lose. Trump is a brooder; he does not forget easily, and Musk may have overstepped a mark by alerting the world’s media and social media to something that might or might not be contained in confidential files regarding Epstein and Trump. That may just prove unforgivable. Certainly, in the absence of an explanation, the accusation could return to haunt Trump.
There may be one. It could be trivial and of little consequence. Musk may merely have been having fun, being provocative, and he hasn’t presented anything to substantiate the allegation. But until we know, we cannot be sure, and the gossip will continue. Meanwhile, Trump’s longtime ally Steve Bannon suggested that the president “should sign an executive order calling for the Defense Production Act and seize SpaceX”. And the President himself was said to be planning on dispensing with all traces of Elon Musk, including the Tesla he bought at full price in March.
It’s perverse that they should be reduced to this. But two large, bristling personalities, possessors of machismo in abundance, were probably always going to find sharing the same small classroom an enormous challenge. Despite deploying all the cynical disregarding and showboating they could muster, it was insurmountable and could come at an enormous cost.
Win a luxury ticket package for two to this year’s Wilderness Festival
Music fans can win a luxury package for two to this year’s Wilderness Festival, all courtesy of Audi.
Wilderness returns this year to the picturesque nature reserve at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, and will be headlined by rock band Supergrass, Nineties rave duo Orbital, and Brit Award-winning, Grammy-nominated indie-rock duo Wet Leg.
Completing the headliner lineup are Basement Jaxx, who are making their return to live shows for the first time in over a decade, as they celebrate the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking album, Remedy.
The winner will receive a pair of complimentary festival tickets and boutique accommodation in a luxury cabin for two. They will also be treated to an Audi Kitchen experience and, for the ultimate luxury, your own private chauffeur to take you and your guest to the festival and return journey.
Enter the prize draw here.
Wilderness Festival is known for its eclectic music lineup, which this year includes performances from pop singer Lapsley, singer-songwriter Bess Atwell, Scottish musician Jacob Alon and DJ Craig Charles.
At The Sanctuary and Spa, guests will discover an oasis of calm, whether that means taking part in disco yoga or a workshop to explore your sensuality. Highlights include boating, massage treatments, sauna rituals, hot tubs, a wild sauna, Wim Hof method ice baths and wild swimming.
Gourmet food offerings can be found at Ben Quinn’s long table banquet in the woods, a once-in-a-lifetime experience set in the woods and lit by chandeliers. There, Quinn and his team will serve up a feast of flavour cooked right in front of you five courses of carefully curated, responsibly sourced, local and seasonal ingredients.
Elsewhere, attendees can join a number of talks, comedy sets and conversations, from Food Stories with Jay Rayner to a live recording of Jamie Laing’s podcast, Great Company.
Comedian, writer and NHS doctor Matthew Hutchinson will share a sharp and moving look at life on the frontline of British healthcare, while cultural historian Tiffany Watt Smith will uncover a bold and fascinating alternative history of female friendship.
The prize draw will open for entries at 3pm (BST) on 7 May 2025 and close at 3pm BST on 17 June 2025. Only one entry per person is permitted for the Prize Draw. Terms and conditions apply.