Lob and Smash

1 week ago | lobandsmash.com | Wendi Oliveros

50 percent of tennis's high profile young players advanced to the second round The 2025 French Open first-round matches are complete. A mixture of veterans, young players, qualifiers, and seeds have gotten their first taste of Roland Garros this year. At every Grand Slam, we hear about the next generation of players and wonder if this will be the event that one (or more) of those teenage stars hoists the trophy at the end of seven rounds of play.

1 week ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

Onto the next round... The first round of the 2025 French Open got underway on Sunday, and we didn't see any massive upsets. Monday changed that. Emma Navarro, the ninth seed, lost, as did men's fourth seed Taylor Fritz. And those were all early matches. This means the French Open is shaping up to have several surprises, and maybe not a great one for American tennis. Perhaps Navarro and Fritz will be the last of the shocking losses.

2 weeks ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

Finally. It has been nearly a year since Novak Djokovic won a title. The last he took was at the Paris Olympics in July 2024. Since then, he has watched, as everyone else has, as Jannik Sinner has won most of the tournaments he has been involved in. Djokovic was due. Arguably the greatest player ever, he has had some chances to win his 100th career title. Only two players have won as many. Jimmy Connors is one with 109, and Roger Federer is the other with 103.

2 weeks ago | lobandsmash.com | Lee Vowell

Play begins on May 25. Assuming you want to watch the 2025 French Open (and, let's be real, you clicked on this article about how to do so), we have that information. Where you live will determine how you can watch, of course, and good luck if you live in the United States. You might have to search around. Europe makes it easy, at least. Eurosport, in all of its glory, will bring you from the first round to the final matches. Keep your TV or computer on, and you won't miss anything.

2 weeks ago | lobandsmash.com | Wendi Oliveros

Will Nadal's critique of Netflix affect his own forthcoming documentary? Carlos Alcaraz's My Way documentary series has been out for a month, but Rafael Nadal is the first to critique Netflix's depiction of him. Nadal recently told L'Equipe that he believed Netflix portrayed Alcaraz as a person interested in partying and not very professional.