PARIS (AP) — Jannik Sinner stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 15 matches by grabbing the last five games to complete a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Arthur Rinderknech of France in the French Open's first round on Monday night.
The No. 1-ranked Sinner is playing in his second tournament since serving a three-month doping ban that was announced shortly after he won the Australian Open in January. His case came to light shortly before last year's U.S. Open, which Sinner also won.
The 23-year-old Italian has three Grand Slam titles in all, each trophy arriving on hard courts, and his best showing at Roland-Garros was making it to the semifinals a year ago before losing in five sets to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
The result against the 75th-ranked Rinderknech in Court Philippe-Chatrier was Sinner's 62nd win in a row against opponents outside the top 20.
Sinner was pretty close to perfect over the initial two sets Monday, combining for 19 winners and just eight unforced errors in that span. His level dipped a bit in the third, with nine unforced errors off his racket contributing to deficits of 4-0 and 5-2.
But Sinner righted himself from there and was on his way to a matchup against another Frenchman, 38-year-old Richard Gasquet, who has said this tournament will be the last of his career.
“I know you will support him,” Sinner told the fans with a smile, “but that’s OK.”
Rinderknech, whose best Slam appearance was reaching the third round at the 2023 U.S. Open, did his best to involve the partisan crowd, playing to the spectators and wildly celebrating his best points by sprinting around or waving his arms or shaking his head or reaching into the front row of the stands for a high-five or a handshake.
He has been to known to rile up his supporters and get under an opponent's skin. During a loss against American Taylor Fritz at Roland-Garros two years ago, when Rinderknech was the last French man in the field, the crowd booed and whistled heartily at the end. Fritz put a finger to his lips, then spread his arms to egg on the crowd and yelled, “ Come on! I want to hear it! ”
In the lead-up to a rematch between the two at Wimbledon last year, Rinderknech made a reference to the meeting in Paris, which upset Fritz. So when the All England Club contest ended with the same winner, they got into a bit of a back-and-forth up at the net, an exchange that included Fritz telling Rinderknech to “have a nice flight home.”
France's Arthur Rinderknech sits as he plays Italy's Jannik Sinner during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Italy's Jannik Sinner serves the ball to France's Arthur Rinderknech during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Italy's Jannik Sinner serves against France's Arthur Rinderknech during their first round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Monday, May 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.
Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.
The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”
Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.
To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.
Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.
Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.
Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.
Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
