The 7 women to lose consecutive Australian and French Open finals: Aryna Sabalenka joins unwanted group
The French Open final ended in disappointment for Aryna Sabalenka, with the world No 1 falling to Coco Gauff in the championship match.
The Belarusian is now just the seventh woman in the Open Era to lose both the Australian Open and French Open finals when they have been held as the first two Grand Slams of the season.
Aryna Sabalenka – 2025
Sabalenka has reached three straight Grand Slam finals and won the 2024 US Open, though she has now been beaten twice in a row to start the 2025 Slam year.
The Belarusian was beaten 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final by Madison Keys, before Saturday’s 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 defeat to Gauff in Paris.
Serena Williams – 2016
Until Sabalenka, tennis icon Williams was the last woman to lose consecutive finals across the first two majors of a season.
The American was beaten 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 by Angelique Kerber in Melbourne and then 7-5, 6-4 by Garbine Muguruza in Paris, though bounced back to beat Kerber in the Wimbledon final.
Dinara Safina – 2009
One of the best players never to lift a major title, former world No 1 Safina fell to 0-3 in her three Grand Slam finals at the start of 2009.
Safina was swept aside by Williams in the Australian Open final, falling 6-0, 6-3, while she was then beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland Garros, having also lost the 2008 final.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – 1995
Former world No 1 Sanchez Vicario was the winner of four major singles titles, but lost a further eight finals – including Australian and French Open finals losses in 1995.
Mary Pierce beat the Spaniard 6-3, 6-2 in Melbourne, before she lost 7-5, 4-6, 6-0 to Steffi Graf at the French Open; she was also beaten by Graf at Wimbledon that summer.
Martina Navratilova – 1987
Navratilova was the dominant player of the 1980s, though she was beaten in her first two Grand Slam finals of the 1987 season.
She lost 7-5, 7-6(1) to Hana Mandlikova at the Australian Open and 6-4, 4-6, 8-6 to Graf at Roland Garros, though she would bounce back to beat the German at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
Tennis News
Coco Gauff’s coach: Who is renowned figure and technique expert Matt Daly?
Why Lois Boisson could be frozen out of Wimbledon despite stunning rankings rise
Renata Tomanova – 1976
Former world No 22 Tomanova reached two Grand Slam finals in her career and was beaten in both of them.
The Czech finished as the runner-up at the 1976 Australian Open, losing 6-2, 6-2 to Evonne Goolagong, and then fell 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 to Sue Barker at Roland Garros.
Martina Navratilova – 1975
Before her back-to-back defeats in 1987, Navratilova had suffered a similar fate in 1975 – losing her first two Grand Slam finals.
The tennis legend was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Goolagong in Australia, before falling 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to great rival Chris Evert in the French Open final
Evonne Goolagong – 1972
The first woman in the Open Era to lose consecutive Australian and French Open finals was Goolagong, who won a total of seven Grand Slam singles titles.
Goolagong was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Virginia Wade in the final of her home Grand Slam, before a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Billie Jean King at Roland Garros; King would also beat her in the Wimbledon final that summer.
Read Next: Aryna Sabalenka: Who’s is world No 1’s boyfriend Georgios Frangulis?
