Opponents Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo acted out and demanded the disqualification despite not seeing the incident. Kato who averages around $US150,000 ($NZ244,000) in earnings a year lost all ranking points and prize money with doubles partner Aldila Sutjiadi. Kato was disqualified for doing so as hitting an official or ball person is a dismissal, technically correct by the rules, but also quite extreme in the situation where there was no anger, no purpose and perhaps laziness rather than malicious intent.

The French crowd just booed players either way, as that's what French crowds do.Īnd crowd reaction got worse when Japan's Miyu Kato hit a somewhat tame shot from out side of the court to the other which then connected with a ball girl. She also showed some class with her support of Ukraine, wearing just a small flag on her cap.Įlsewhere the issues in Ukraine outshone the tennis as handshakes weren't accepted, or wanted, and Sabalenka said she was too scared to attend a media conference after previously being asked questions about Belarus' involvement in the war. In the final there was no come back, however there was a three-set challenge to Swiatek which saw her pushed to make uncharacteristic errors, but as is the case with the Polish player she showed true resolve to win what was her third title in four years in Paris and fourth Grand Slam overall.

In fact in the semifinals against second ranked Aryna Sabalenka she came back from 2-5 down in the third set to win. She was challenged in the final by the all-court game of Karolina Muchova, the Czech who was in form throughout the tournament after having to fight back from injuries - to her back, her abdominals and her ankle as well as being told by some doctors to give up the game. But all was almost forgotten on respective finals days as Iga Swiatek won the women's title for the third time in four years and maintained her No 1 world ranking while Novak Djokovic became great.įor Poland's Swiatek, winning the women's title was special in that she was the first back-to-back women's Grand Slam winner since Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2015-16 and the first at Roland Garros since Justine Henin in 2005-07. Opinion - All the cliches of sport and life came together in a giant mix for the 2023 French Open as politics infiltrated sport and sport tended to overlook real life. Iga Swiatek holds the winner's trophy after victory against Karolina Muchova.

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