French Open: Aryna Sabalenková overcame Kasatkina, she entered the fourth round with Osaka

Aryna Sabalenkova continued her impressive run at the French Open by beating Australia’s Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5 on Saturday to book a place in the fourth round and set up a sensational showdown with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. Osaka, meanwhile, dazzled in an all-gold outfit, battling American teenager Iva Jovic 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4 on Saturday to reach the fourth round of the French Open for the first time.

With several top stars crashing out in the previous two days, including men’s top seed Jannik Sinner and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic, the world number one restored a sense of order at Roland Garros with a dominant performance on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

Sabalenkova was in complete control from the start, using her trademark power from the baseline and sharp net play to sweep through the opening set. Belarus won the first five games and recovered from 15-40 down on serve before sealing a flawless 6-0 opener. She won an impressive 91 percent of the points on her first serve of the set, leaving Kasatkina with few answers.

The Australian, who switched allegiance from Russia last year, showed far more resistance in the second set. Kasatkina broke serve and briefly took control, drawing loud “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chants from the crowd as she opened up the lead. However, Sabalenková responded quickly and tied the game at 2:2 after an unforced error by her opponent.

Kasatkina continued to pressure the top seed and threatened to force a decision, but Sabalenka raised her level when it mattered most. The reigning world number one found another gear late in the set, breaking decisively before serving out the match to complete the straight-set win in 77 minutes.

The victory marked Sabalenka’s 100th win at the top of the WTA rankings and improved her head-to-head record against Kasatkina to 8-2. Last year’s Roland Garros finalist will now turn her attention to a thrilling fourth-round showdown against former world number one Naomi Osaka for a place in the quarter-finals.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

30 May 2026 20:00 IST