First day of the 2025 French Open: Zheng Qinwen wins Yuan Yue and loses, Nadal "touches the exit"

26/05/2025 10:00:00 PANDATV

The 2025 French Open ended the first day of the main draw, and the two Chinese players who played on that day won one win and one loss, Zheng Qinwen, who returned to the golden blessed land, got off to a good start, and won seven consecutive victories at Roland Garros; Yuan Yue, who won the championship in the first round of the big hot Paulini, lost in three sets and stopped in the first round.

Zheng Qinwen got off to a good start at the French Open

Photo: Li Jianyi

Zheng Qinwen, who made her second appearance at the Philippe Chartier Stadium, beat former tournament runner-up Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to make it past the first round of the French Open for the fourth year in a row, and her second-round opponent was Colombia's Arango, who beat Filipino Ella in three sets 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 against Filipino Ella who had previously shone in Miami (upsetting Swiatek). Zheng Qinwen's third-round seeded Stearns suffered a surprise loss in the first round, with the American losing 0-6, 3-6 to Germany's Leith Swallowing Egg.

Yuan Yue

Photo: Li Jianyi

Yuan Yue, who appeared at Susan Lenglen, lost 1-6, 6-4, 3-6 to world fourth and last year's runner-up Paulini in the first round. Yuan Yue stepped up in the second set, her baseline firepower was too much for the Italian to handle, and then she broke first in the deciding set, but the Chinese Jinhua lost four games in a row after leading 3-2. Yuan Yue said after the match that she thought she had a chance to win before the match, but there were too many mistakes in the second half of the deciding set, and she was a little disappointed with the loss.

The Big Four gathered at the French Open

Photo: Li Jianyi

After the third match of the matinee at the Philippe Chartier Stadium, the French Open organizing committee held a retirement ceremony for Nadal, and all the spectators at the stadium changed into T-shirts with Merci Rafa written on them, which caused a sea of orange in the stadium, and Alcaraz and Swiatek also came to the audience to witness the ceremony. At the retirement ceremony, Nadal's precious images of the French Open over the years were played, which drew tears from the Spanish king, and then Nadal delivered a long speech to express his gratitude. Towards the end of the ceremony, the other three members of the Big Four – Federer, Djokovic and Murray – walked onto Centre Court to witness the curtain call of old rival Rafael Nadal at the French Open. Finally, the French Open presented the "King of Clay" with a permanent mark of Nadal's shoe on the Philippe Chartier Stadium.

"It's an incredible story, and I've been through everything in 20 years. I've had incredible opponents – like Andy, Novak, and of course, Roger – and many others who have pushed me to the limit physically and mentally. "Nothing would have been so exciting without these long-standing rivalries that drive us to get better every day." Roland Garros is one of a kind. Not only because it's an important part of tennis history, but also because of all the smiling and tireless people who make this tournament so special. ”

Sabalenka

Photo: Li Jianyi

In women's singles, world No. 1 Sabalenka only dropped one game to pass strongly, and Schneider, Svitolina, Vekic, and Anisimova all advanced to the second round. No. 26 seed Kostyuk, No. 27 seed Fernandez, No. 29 seed Noskova and two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova reached the first round.

The Men's Singles high-ranking players also withstood the test of the first round, with No.8 seed Musetti, No.12 seed Paulo, No.13 seed Shelton and No.15 seed Tiafoe all reaching the second round. No. 21 seed Mahachi, No. 28 seed Brandon Nakashima, and No. 32 seed Mikkelsen were eliminated in the first round.

Results of the first day of the 2025 French Open