It's been a rough week for American tennis, but three U.S. players remain in the French Open draw.
WTAATPMadison Keys
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PARIS -- After a relatively strong season on the clay and a number of seeded players, the expectations were high for those representing the red, white and blue at the French Open.
Defending champion Coco Gauff had reached the final in Rome earlier this month. Ben Shelton had become the first countryman to win a 500-level title on the surface in Munich in April, and Learner Tien won his first clay title at Geneva just last week.
Six men -- the most since 1993 -- and five women advanced to the third round in Paris and were all in action Friday and Saturday. But it was a swelteringly hot and chaotic stretch at the tournament, which saw the stunning upset of 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, among others. And the Americans largely struggled as well. Editor's Picks How a surging Fonseca upset Djokovic -- and what it means for the French Open D'Arcy Maine What went wrong for Jannik Sinner at the French Open? D'Arcy Maine Why American men struggle on clay -- and what they're doing to fix it D'Arcy Maine 2 Related
Entering the second week, just three Americans remain in the singles draws: Madison Keys, Frances Tiafoe and Zachary Svajda. While Keys and Tiafoe have been deep in majors before, it's a wildly unexpected run for Svajda. After several Americans lost, Svajda became the first American to advance to the fourth round, and he simply couldn't believe he had the chance to be the last countryman standing.
"That would be amazing," he said. "You know, it's like I'm dreaming right now, in a dream. It's crazy."
All three will next play Monday with a chance to move on to the quarterfinals. Gauff was the last American to lift the trophy in Paris, as she did last year, but no man has done so since Andre Agassi in 1999. Will that change this year? With the way things are going, it just might.
Here are the Americans remaining in the draw, how they got here and what's next.
No. 19 Madison Keys
Players she has beaten so far: Hanne Vandewinkel, Antonia Ruzic, No. 9 Victoria Mboko
Up next: No. 25 Diana Shnaider
Previous best result at Roland Garros: Semifinals (2018)
Though the 31-year-old Keys is a major champion, having won the title in Australia last year, and has reached the semis in Paris before, few would have picked her to be the last American woman remaining at the start of the tournament as she simply hadn't had the preparation she had hoped for.
An illness forced her out of last month's Madrid Open and she had to retire during the final of the Paris 125K event earlier this month because of a thigh injury. That same injury forced her to withdraw from Strasbourg the following week. But despite all that, Keys has been impressive at Roland Garros. She surrendered just three games in her opening-round match and, after relinquishing a strong start, she held on against Mboko for the 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 victory.
"Super tough match, which was expected," Keys said Saturday night. "I think mostly really happy with being able to kind of rebound after that second set, and be able to put myself back in the position to win, sometimes is the hardest thing. So I think that's what I'm overall happiest with."
Keys has a 3-0 career record against Shnaider, which includes a win earlier this season in a three-set thriller in Brisbane, in which every set went to a tiebreak. They have never met on clay. A win Monday would put Keys back into the quarterfinals for the second consecutive season and for the third time in her career.
When asked about the struggles many of her American peers had during the third round, Keys said it hadn't fazed her and was characteristically optimistic.
"I don't think I've thought about it, to be honest," she said. "I think it's always nice when everyone is doing well, but today I feel like there's been so much going on, and there's been some really long, crazy matches. It's kind of been hard to actually keep track of what's happening.
"I mean, there's always Wimbledon. The Americans can rebound at Wimbledon."
Frances Tiafoe is the first American man to reach the round of 16 at the French Open in consecutive years since Andre Agassi more than 20 years ago. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images No. 19 Frances Tiafoe Players he has beaten so far: Eliot Spizzirri, Hubert Hurkacz, Jaime Faria
Up next: Matteo Arnaldi
Previous best result at Roland Garros: Quarterfinals (2025)
For the first two sets of Tiafoe's third-round match against Faria, a qualifier, it looked as if he would be joining many of his peers with an early exit. But in the late-night hours of Saturday and into Sunday morning, with fireworks and chaos taking place outside of the grounds after Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League title, Tiafoe found a way to battle back.
The 28-year-old won a marathon game at 4-4 in the third set and came through a tiebreak to keep the match alive -- and then he dominated the rest of the way. After four hours -- and even with a "Don't act like you're tough" comment to his opponent during a tense moment -- he was victorious: 4-6, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-2.
A two-time semifinalist at the US Open, Tiafoe reached his first Roland Garros quarterfinals last year, after previously never advancing past the third round. He's back into the second week and is the first American man to reach the round of 16 at the tournament in consecutive years since Agassi did so in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
Now, with the absence of so many contenders, like Djokovic and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Tiafoe will look to seize on the incredible opportunity and keep his run going. First, he'll need to get past Arnaldi, who is currently ranked No. 104 but finding his rhythm on clay at just the right time. They have played twice before, each winning once and with Arnaldi claiming victory in their lone meeting on clay in Madrid last year.
"I'm definitely shocked, surprised for sure," No. 95 Zachary Svajda said after making it to the fourth round of the French Open. AP Photo/Dave Shopland, File Zachary Svajda Players he has beaten so far: Alexei Popyrin, Adam Walton, No. 25 Francisco Cerundolo
Up next: No. 10 Flavio Cobolli
Previous best result at Roland Garros: First main draw appearance
There are unlikely fourth-rounders at the French Open, and then there's Svajda. Ranked No. 85 in the world, he has never made it through qualifying at the tournament in his three previous attempts. The 23-year-old wasn't exactly on everyone's radar, and certainly not who anyone would have predicted to be one of the last two American men in the draw.
But now he is just the fifth American man in the past 40 years to reach the second week in his French Open main draw debut, joining Jim Courier, Todd Martin, Michael Russell and Sebastian Korda.
Though he didn't win a clay title like Shelton or Tien, both now eliminated, Svajda has had an impressive season. Playing through grief after his father died of cancer in the fall, he made his main draw debut at the Australian Open after coming through qualifying, won a Challenger title in his hometown of San Diego, and cracked the top 100 for the first time after reaching the round of 16 in Delray Beach in February.
On Saturday, his father's birthday, he won the first two sets against Cerundolo before dropping his level. But in the fifth set, he took control, breaking Cerundolo's serve twice early to take a 4-1 lead. He won, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, and fell to the ground in celebration. Later, he told reporters he still hadn't fully processed it.
"I'm definitely shocked, surprised for sure," Svajda said. "It hasn't kicked in yet. It's crazy. I'm just taking it all in. You know, I knew I would get good on the clay. I thought maybe in a few years, but I never expected right now. I'm very grateful and blessed and just taking it all in."
Earning about $332,000 after reaching the round of 16 in Paris, Svajda will more than double his earnings for the year and his ranking is expected to rise into the top 60 for the first time. A win over Cobolli, who defeated Tien in the third round in straight sets, would likely push him well into the top 50.
Svajda and Cobolli have played once before, in the round of 16 in Delray Beach in 2024. Cobolli won that match in three sets, 6-4, 6-7 (1), 6-2.
Perhaps best known previously for taking a set off of Djokovic at the US Open in August, Svajda has more than made a name for himself at this tournament and is positioned well for the rest of the season, no matter what happens Monday or beyond.
