How Gauff tormented Sabalenka to win a ‘terrible’ French Open final

When Coco Gauff played her first French Open final at the age of 18, she walked onto Court Philippe-Chatrier having already written off her chances. Three years later, as she returned to the Roland-Garros final, Gauff similarly believed that there would only be one outcome when she faced Aryna Sabalenka.

Only this time, in an epic, turbulent three-set comeback, there was no giving up, no lost causes, as Gauff dismantled the World No. 1 and mastered the difficult, gusty conditions to become a two-time grand slam champion at the age of 21.

With equal amounts of resilience and composure, Gauff overturned an imperious start from Sabalenka and executed another perfect game plan, with this 6-7 6-2 6-4 bearing remarkable significance to her victory over the same opponent in the 2023 US Open final. After absorbing Sabalenka’s heavy blows, Gauff counter-punched her way out of trouble, scrambling her opponent’s powerful attacking game with incredible athleticism and sheer determination.

Sabalenka malfunctioned, an ominous start and first-set lead evaporating as the errors mounted. She finished with 70, over double the amount of Gauff. On a cold, blustery day where the Belarusian could not hit through the court with her usual zip, Gauff forced more mistakes by extending points beyond their limits, giving Sabalenka ball after ball to deal with.

Sabalenka could not handle it. She has now lost back-to-back grand slam finals after her defeat to Madison Keys in Melbourne and was left in tears as she apologised for playing a “terrible” final.

“Honestly, sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame,” a disgruntled Sabalenka later said. “Somehow magically, the ball lands in the court. It felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was laughing, like, ‘let’s see if you can handle this’.”

It capped an extraordinary, ungracious press conference from Sabalenka, who also said that Iga Swiatek would have beaten Gauff had the four-time champion won their semi-final and added: “I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.”

But the conditions were the same for both players, and Gauff dragged Sabalenka into another nightmare. “It was not a day for great tennis,” Gauff said. “I don’t know too many people that could play great tennis today, But it’s part of the sport and part of playing outside.”

It was unclear what sort of match Sabalenka was expecting. In their 10 previous meetings, split evenly at five wins each, Sabalenka and Gauff had contested a series of rollercoaster, seesaw battles where each would attempt to shield their weakness while playing to their strengths. Their styles make for a classic match-up of powerful attack against counter-punching defence, which Gauff had used to overturn Sabalenka in her maiden grand slam triumph in the 2023 US Open final.

The opening set brought both sides of this sharp contrast. Sabalenka jumped on tentative serving from Gauff to establish an early double-break, hitting a scorching series of deep returns and strikes that either thundered past the American or rushed the timing of her occasionally vulnerable forehand.

However, down 1-4, Gauff used the momentum of a sloppy service game from Sabalenka to get back into the set. The American used her running power to drag Sabalenka into the extended rallies and force several baffling, bewildering errors from the world No. 1.

“With the wind, I felt it was also more important to try to get as many balls in the court as possible,” Gauff explained. They had practiced with the roof closed on Court Philippe-Chatrier and Gauff felt it was going to be a tough day when she walked out and felt the wind. “I knew it was just going to be about willpower and mental,” she said.

It made for a compelling, wildly unpredictable end to the marathon first set, where Sabalenka served for the set twice but Gauff broke back both times. The 21-year-old prevailed in an epic 12-minute game when Sabalenka served for it at 5-4, with the Belarusian making a double fault on set point and then putting a simple volley into the net after scrambling defence from Gauff.

Gauff saved her best moment to force the tiebreak, after Sabalenka saved for the set again at 6-5. Running to her backhand to anticipate a Sabalenka smash, Gauff redirected a stunning defensive winner down the line. She roared into the decider, jumping into a confident 4-1 lead.

However, after 77 minutes, the set finished where it started, with Sabalenka thundering the returns at the Gauff second serve. Sabalenka remained composed to win an extended rally at 5-5, flashing the forehand crosscourt, then, on her second set point, obliterated a second serve from Gauff that creeped over the net at 79mph. Sabalenka closed the net to put away the drop-volley and moved one set away.

But the seeds of doubt Gauff had managed to plant towards the end of the first set finally bore fruit in the second and third, when the American closed in on the finish line behind her steadier serve, touch at the net, and tenacity to attack Sabalenka’s faltering serve, which coughed up many double faults at crucial moments.

Barely half an hour later, Gauff was level again. As Sabalenka’s level and energy plummeted, barely getting a return back in play as Gauff dominated on the serve, the American flipped the script. She broke Sabalenka in the opening game, setting the tone for a one-sided set where she disrupted Sabalenka with tactical returns and composed shot-making.

Gauff was reading Sabalenka’s every move and the World No. 1 could not reverse the direction of the final. “I think I was overemotional,” Sabalenka said. “I didn’t really handle myself quite well mentally. I think she won the match not because she played incredible, just because I made all of those mistakes.”

With Gauff serving for the title at 5-4 in the third, Sabalenka went for one last swing: on match point, Sabalenka threw herself into a Hail Mary of a forehand return that caught the back of the line. A few moments later, Gauff faced a break point and Sabalenka went for the same return, only this time dragged it wide by a foot.

On the second match point, Sabalenka stopped as Gauff looked to have gone long, only for it to drop in at the final moment. Sabalenka reacted in just enough time to return the ball, but Gauff put her under pressure. Sabalenka missed on the final backhand as Gauff kissed the white paint on the baseline. “It wasn’t pretty,” said Gauff, but the taste of the French Open and her second grand slam title after conquering the clay was sweet all the same.

Teen died after breast cancer referral downgraded as she was 16

A teenage girl died of breast cancer after her treatment was downgraded from “urgent” to “routine” due to her age.

Isla Sneddon, then aged 14, first went to hospital in the summer of 2022 with painful lumps in her breasts, but was informed that they were down to hormones.

She returned in 2024, aged 16, with similar symptoms, but despite her GP putting through an urgent referral due to a suspicion of cancer, it was downgraded in line with national guidelines.

Her family are now demanding a review of urgent cancer referrals, and has said she may have survived if her symptoms were taken as seriously as adult cancer treatment.

According to the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, any new discrete lump in a patient over the age of 30 should be treated as an urgent referral and seen within two weeks, while those under 30 are treated as routine.

Speaking to The Independent, her cousin Mairi McGee said: “Isla was a beautiful soul. She was kind, reliable and had the ability to make people feel seen. She loved music, makeup and all things pink.”

After her urgent referral was downgraded, she was eventually seen for a biopsy two months later in August 2024 and told it was likely to be a benign tumour, a probable giant fibroadenoma.

However, six days later, her family were informed that there was a sac filled with fluid around her heart, and fluid in her lungs. As her condition deteriorated, she remained in intensive care at Glasgow’s Golden Jubilee hospital for 10 weeks until she was handed the devastating news that sarcoma had been found on the lining of her heart.

Sarcoma is a rare form of aggressive cancer that starts in the bones and soft tissues. In Isla’s case, the cancer had originated in her breast, and had spread to her heart, lungs and lymph nodes.

She was given just 6-12 months to live, and was able to continue her treatment at home until she died aged 17, just six months and two days after her diagnosis.

“We can’t stress enough that the care Isla received from doctors and nurses was outstanding. They really were amazing with Isla,” Ms McGee said.

“We think the guidelines regarding referrals should be changed. Had Isla been an adult, her case wouldn’t have been downgraded and that month-or-two delay could have been the difference between us having Isla with us today or even having more time.”

Her family is calling on the Scottish government and NHS Scotland to ensure paediatric referrals are subject to the same maximum wait times as adults, and for there to be a follow-up where a referral is downgraded or delayed.

They are also calling for clearer guidelines to help GPs and clinicians recognise and escalate signs of cancer in young adults and children without delay.

Scotland has one of the highest mortality rates for under-18s in Western Europe, with an estimated 300 children and young people dying each year.

Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: “This is an utterly heartbreaking case and my thoughts are with Isla Sneddon’s family.

“It is a scandal that Isla and her family were so badly failed, and lessons must be learned from this awful case to ensure no more lives are needlessly lost in this way.”

She added: “There must be a review into how cancer referrals for young people are handled so we can ensure people of all ages get the swift, lifesaving cancer treatment they need.

Isla’s family said: “Isla’s death has shattered all her family, friends and teachers. We are beyond devastated and can’t come to terms with it. This shouldn’t be happening to anyone let alone someone with their whole life ahead of them.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the family of Isla on their loss.

“The Scottish referral guidelines for suspected cancer have been developed to support primary care clinicians to identify those with symptoms [consistent with] cancer and identify those who require urgent assessment by a specialist. These guidelines have recently been reviewed with input from clinicians and cancer charities to ensure they are evidence-based and help support early identification of cancer.

“To support this, a new primary care cancer education platform – Gateway C – was launched on 30 April 2024 in NHS Scotland, supported by NHS Education for Scotland. Gateway C provides innovative and tailored information to support earlier cancer diagnosis efforts and enable effective decision-making.

“This free online platform is accessible to all primary care clinicians, including pharmacists, dentists, and optometrists.”

John Lewis slashes perks for credit card holders

John Lewis is slashing perks for its credit card holders – meaning shoppers will need to spend more to reap their rewards.

Points earned on purchases using the credit card convert into gift vouchers to spend in John Lewis and Waitrose.

Each point equates to 1p, but from the beginning of August customers will only earn a point for every £10 they spend – instead of £4.

The less generous perks will mean customers will need to spend more to receive their vouchers in the post.

The rewards for spending in the group’s own stores will remain unchanged at five points for every £4 spent. That means if you spend £100 in John Lewis or Waitrose you will get £1.25 in points.

The company also announced that although there will be cuts to points collected elsewhere customers will get triple points in John Lewis department stores and online in August over the next three years.

A John Lewis Money spokesperson said: “Our rewards are being updated to help maintain our market-leading reward for spending at John Lewis and Waitrose, where customers earn 1.25 per cent back on every pound spent.

“Spending on purchases made elsewhere will earn 0.1 per cent from 1st August.

“These changes enable us to invest in the rewards that are most valued by our customers – alongside a new bonus to help customers earn additional points throughout August.”

The retailer said there were “many other advantages” to its card and it was “adding more for you all the time”. These included double-points promotions, competitions and special offers from its partners.

The reduced point system for spending in other stores is in line with other popular cards offered by supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

It’s also not the first time John Lewis has cut reduced the offers on its cards.

In 2020, the retailer halved the number of points shoppers could gain from elsewhere from one point per £2 spent to one every £4.