Paris, FRANCE— The red clay courts of Roland-Garros bring out the best in two-time finalist Casper Ruud (NOR), with the head-to-toe Yonex ambassador reaching the quarterfinals of the men’s singles for a third year in a row.
With his thrilling 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Taylor Fritz, the Norwegian set up a rematch of last year’s Paris final against Serbian Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1 and defending champion. Ruud, whose first Grand Slam final was at Roland-Garros in 2022, and who also appeared in the final of the 2022 US Open, has ambitions of becoming the first Norwegian to win a Grand Slam singles title. In a strong showing for Team Yonex in Paris, four players with Yonex racquets have made the quarterfinals of the singles events with a trio of Yonex stars reaching the last eight of the women’s draw.
The Roland-Garros junior event is also underway. A total of 37 players -- 15 boys and 22 girls -- are competing with Yonex racquets in their hands. This is the largest number of players of any racquet manufacturer in the juniors, with a 29% share of total participation.
Rybakina powers into the last eight
With the ball “flying a little bit more” in the Paris sunshine, Team Yonex star Elena Rybakina (KAZ) had even more zip and energy on the clay and surged into the quarterfinals of the women’s singles at Roland-Garros.
The warmer, faster conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier suited Rybakina’s game – which is built around her power – with the head-to-toe Yonex ambassador defeating Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3. Still yet to drop a set after four appearances at this tournament, Rybakina is through to the last eight in Paris for the first time in three years where she will have an all-Yonex encounter with Jasmine Paolini (ITA). After winning her first Grand Slam title on the Wimbledon grass in 2022 and reaching the final of the hard-court Australian Open last season, Rybakina will be looking to reach a first semi-final on the Roland-Garros clay before going on to land a second major.
Paolini fights back for first Grand Slam quarterfinal
Now that she believes in herself – on clay, as on all surfaces – Paolini is finding she is capable of so much more at the Grand Slams. In a remarkable turnaround in southwest Paris, the Team Yonex star came from a set down to defeat Elina Avanesyan 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 and reach the quarterfinals of a major for the first time. While the Italian felt as though she was “a little bit outside the match” in the opening set, she fought to get back into it and found that the “sensation” on her Yonex racquet improved. Paolini advanced into the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at this season’s Australian Open – and now, at the next major, she has gone even deeper into the draw, which has made her very happy.
Vondrousova into the last eight once again
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) is into the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros for the first time since 2019, when she reached the final in Paris as an unseeded teenager. The Yonex star, who took her first major at Wimbledon last season when she was the first unseeded women’s singles champion in the tournament’s history, was a 6-4, 6-2 winner in an all-Yonex match with qualifier Olga Danilovic (SRB). Vondrousova went through to play Iga Swiatek, the world No. 1 and the defending champion, for a place in the last four.
Caser Ruud (NOR) | EZONE 100 [LINK] / POLYTOUR SPIN [LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 130 [LINK] / ECLIPSION [LINK] / Paris Collection [LINK]
Elena Rybakina (KAZ) | VCORE 100 [LINK] / POLYTOUR FIRE 125 [LINK] / ECLIPSION [LINK] / Paris Collection [LINK]
Jasmine Paolini (ITA) | VCORE 100 [LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 120 [LINK]
Marketa Vondrousova (CZE) | EZONE 100 [LINK]/ POLYTOUR AIR 125 [LINK]
Olga Danilovic (SRB) | EZONE 100 [LINK] / POLYTOUR SPIN [LINK] / POLYTOUR PRO 125 [LINK]
