FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris watches its national tournament with a curious detachment. Le Monde runs a live blog throughout the day: 'world number one Aryna Sabalenka eliminated by Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals'. The paper underlines this is the most open edition in years — no Grand Slam champion in the semifinals, men's or women's. RFI documents the collapse: 'Aryna Sabalenka, world No. 1, beaten in the quarters by Russia's Diana Shnaider'. The sports section insists on the neutral status the Russian has had to wear since 2022. 20 Minutes pushes the editorial line: 'Why this tournament is the most enjoyable we've ever covered, between absent favorites and crazy matches'. The sports desk doesn't hide it — the absence of a French player in the draw (the last one, Diane Parry, was beaten by Maja Chwalinska in the previous round) frees the writing, allows lightness. France 24 publishes meanwhile the day's most political French piece: 'Roland-Garros: Kostyuk against Andreeva, a semifinal against the backdrop of war in Ukraine'. The angle is sober, journalistic, without pathos — but the mere mention of the war in a semifinal headline says something about the French reading grid. The Paris tournament refuses depoliticization. Ouest-France covers Berrettini retiring in tears to Arnaldi. The Roman's withdrawal — 2021 Wimbledon finalist — becomes a parable for injured tennis. Paris celebrates no one in particular, mourns no favorite, and organizes its coverage as a chronicle of the unexpected. Not a line on Sabalenka saying 'I want to quit tennis now'. The French angle prefers Shnaider's line: 'I have no words, I'm super happy'.