Russian stars will not defend Olympic pairs title

By Nick ZaccardiNov 15, 2017, 12:30 PM EST

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Russians Tatyana Volosozhar and Maksim Trankov are the latest figure skaters to decide they will not defend their Olympic gold medals in PyeongChang.

Their PR director confirmed the decision in an email Wednesday, saying the married pairs skaters “are enjoying family life with their newly born daughter Angelica” and will not compete this season.

It follows announcements from fellow Sochi champions Adelina Sotnikova, Yulia Lipnitskaya, Yevgeny Plushenko and Meryl Davis and Charlie White earlier this year.

It came as little surprise.

Volosozhar, 31, and Trankov, 34, last competed at the 2016 World Championships, where they placed sixth.

They had previously finished first or second at all 18 of their top-level international events since they paired in 2010.

They still hold the three highest pairs scores ever — all set in the 2013-14 season — while the records for every other discipline have each fallen since the Sochi Olympic season.

Russian or Soviet pairs won gold at every Olympics from 1964 through 2006. After getting no medals in Vancouver, Volosozhar and Trankov returned the nation to the top spot in Sochi.

It marked the culmination of a partnership that began a month after those 2010 Winter Games. Volosozhar and Trankov finished eighth and seventh in Vancouver, respectively. Volosozhar skated for Ukraine and Trankov with a different Russian partner.

After winning team event and pairs gold in Sochi, Volosozhar and Trankov took the 2014-15 season off due to his shoulder surgery.

They were married in August 2015. After the 2016 Worlds disaster, they took the 2016-17 season off, and Volosozhar gave birth to daughter Angelica in February.

The PyeongChang Olympic favorites are China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, the reigning world champions.

Also in the mix are Germans Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, the world silver medalists, and two-time world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada.

Russian gold-medal hopes rest with Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, who took silver in 2014, and Yevgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov, the 2017 World bronze medalists.

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2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkMay 29, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT

At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Turning 22 during the tournament, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her most recent match with a right thigh injury last week and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, are the best hopes to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkMay 29, 2023, 8:00 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, who lost in the French Open first round in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, is improved on clay. He won the Italian Open, the last top-level clay event before the French Open, and is the No. 2 seed ahead of Djokovic.

No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 12 Frances Tiafoe and No. 16 Tommy Paul are the highest-seeded Americans, all looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

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