Tabitha Peterson wins U.S. Olympic women’s curling trials, eyes ending another drought

By OlympicTalkNov 21, 2021, 6:08 AM EST

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Tabitha Peterson is going back to the Olympics, this time in charge of a team looking to win the U.S.’ first women’s curling medal.

Team Peterson swept a team skipped by Cory Christensen in the Olympic Trials finals in Omaha on Saturday night to qualify for the Beijing Winter Games.

Peterson made good on favorite status entering Olympic Trials. It went 11-1 in Omaha, six months after earning bronze at the world championship, the first U.S. women’s medal at that tournament in 15 years.

Come February, Peterson’s group will look to reverse lackluster recent U.S. Olympic results. American women in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 went a combined 9-27, including a pair of last-place finishes.

The best of that bunch was Peterson’s team in PyeongChang. That rink, then skipped by Nina Roth, had a shot at the playoffs going into its final round-robin game, a respectable 9-6 loss to eventual gold medalist Sweden to finish 4-5.

Peterson, a pharmacist, then took over as skip while Roth, a nurse, went on maternity leave.

Roth returned, but Peterson remained skip, winning the 2020 national title and then leading the drought-ending medal team at worlds, beating the Olympic champion in the bronze-medal game.

PyeongChang Olympian Becca Hamilton and the team’s new addition since 2018, Tara Peterson (Tabitha’s younger sister), round out the roster. Tara’s inclusion pushed full-fledged 2018 team member Aileen Geving to an alternate spot.

Peterson, Roth, Hamilton and Geving have been curling together since June 2016 after USA Curling’s high performance program grouped them together.

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TEAM PETERSON IS GOING TO THE WINTER OLYMPICS! 🇺🇸🥌@TeamPetersonUSA x @TeamUSA @usacurl | #CurlingTrials22 pic.twitter.com/IV2xcH07H0

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) November 21, 2021

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 4, 2023, 3:10 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, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 4, 2023, 2:40 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.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, 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 last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury 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, is her top remaining challenger in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round. No. 4 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who has three wins over Swiatek this year, withdrew before her third-round match due to illness.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope 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.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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