Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul try to add to the best French Open for US men in decades

PARIS (AP) — It's been 30 years since three American men reached Week 2 at the French Open. Back then, it was Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Jim Courier — each of whom won the tournament at some point.

This go-round, the trio is Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe, all scheduled to be on court Sunday in fourth-round action at Roland-Garros.

“Yeah, about time,” joked Jessica Pegula, who advanced Saturday and was one of five U.S. women in the round of 16, joining Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Amanda Anisimova and Hailey Baptiste. “It’s exciting to see. Obviously you want to see your fellow countrymen do well on the other side, and I’m always actually keeping up with them quite a lot. So I hope they keep it going.”

Won't be easy, of course, perhaps especially for the 13th-seeded Shelton, the big-serving lefty who goes up against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain for a berth in the quarterfinals. No. 12 Paul takes on No. 25 Alexei Popyrin of Australia; No. 15 Tiafoe meets unseeded Daniel Altmaier of Germany.

Not since Courier and Pete Sampras in 1996 have multiple Americans made it to the quarterfinals in Paris.

Historically, the slower red clay used at the French Open has not been particularly kind to men from the United States. Some of that is simply that they tend to grow up playing mostly on hard courts, which reward a big-strike style of hard-hitting tennis, and so they are not as accustomed to the patience and footwork required on the red dirt.

“I really do think everyone can play on this surface," said Paul, an Australian Open semifinalist two years ago. “I remind myself it’s just tennis.”

But for years, Paul said, he was not excited to participate in the French Open. And that's coming from someone who won the event's junior title as a teen in 2015.

“Now I come over here and I look at it as an opportunity,” said Paul, 28, who grew up in North Carolina. “I think all the Americans do.”

Agassi, in 1999, was the last American man to win the trophy at the French Open — and the nation hasn't had a male finalist since then. Before that, it was Courier in 1991 and 1992. Before that, it was Chang in 1989. And before that, you have to go all the way back to Tony Trabert in 1954 and 1955.

American women have had much more success: 15 singles titles in the Open era, including seven for Chris Evert and three for Serena Williams, plus 13 runner-up showings, most recently by Coco Gauff in 2022.

This is the first time since 1985 that a total of eight American women and men were still around for the fourth round.

“It's super critical not to worry about what was and just worry about what is,” said Tiafoe, a 27-year-old from Maryland who twice made the semifinals at the hard-court U.S. Open but began his Roland-Garros career by going 0-6. “Currently we’re at the French Open, and just try to be elite. This is where it counts. So guys just believe it.”

Unlike in New York, where Tiafoe is the center of attention and a fan favorite, a scene he loves — “There is so much anticipation; there's so much energy” — Paris, he said, presents “a different vibe” and “more of a low-key kind of thing.”

So far, so good.

There wasn't likely to be anything low key about Shelton vs. Alcaraz in the main stadium, Court Philippe-Chatrier. They are among the flashiest, most entertaining athletes in men’s tennis at the moment.

Alcaraz is seeded No. 2. At 22, the same age as Shelton — who won an NCAA title for the University of Florida — Alcaraz already owns four Grand Slam titles, with at least one each on the clay at the French Open, the grass at Wimbledon and the hard courts at the U.S. Open.

“That’s a pretty cool opportunity, pretty cool experience, that not a lot of people get or see in their lifetime," said Shelton, a semifinalist at the U.S. Open in 2023 and the Australian Open in January but 2-2 at Roland-Garros before this year. “For me, I’m definitely going to enjoy it and go out there and see what I can do, because I’m starting to gain some speed, gain a little bit of traction, on this surface and starting to see some of my best tennis. I like to think of myself as dangerous whenever I get to that place.”

Madison Keys of the U.S. reacts winning a point United States' Sofia Kenin during their third round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates beating Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic during their third round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Saturday, May 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Tommy Paul of the U.S. reacts as he plays Denmark's Elmer Moller during their first round match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland Garros stadium, in Paris, Sunday May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. reacts to winning a point against United States' Sebastian Korda during their third-round match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Friday, May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Ben Shelton of the U.S. reacts as he plays Italy's Matteo Gigante during their third round match of the French Tennis Open, at the Roland-Garros stadium, in Paris, Friday, May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sluggish December hiring concluded a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers even though layoffs and unemployment have remained low.

Employers added just 50,000 jobs last month, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.

The data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.

Still, economists were encouraged by the drop in the unemployment rate, which had risen in the previous four straight reports. It had also alarmed officials at the Federal Reserve, prompting three cuts to the central bank's key interest rate last year. The decline lowered the odds of another rate reduction in January, economists said.

“The labor market looks to have stabilized, but at a slower pace of employment growth,” Blerina Uruci, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, said. There is no urgency for the Fed to cut rates further, for now."

Some Federal Reserve officials are concerned that inflation remains above their target of 2% annual growth, and hasn't improved since 2024. They support keeping rates where they are to combat inflation. Others, however, are more worried that hiring has nearly ground to a halt and have supported lowering borrowing costs to spur spending and growth.

November's job gain was revised slightly lower, from 64,000 to 56,000, while October's now shows a much steeper drop, with a loss of 173,000 positions, down from previous estimates of a 105,000 decline. The government revises the jobs figures as it receives more survey responses from businesses.

The economy has now lost an average of 22,000 jobs a month in the past three months, the government said. A year ago, in December 2024, it had gained 209,000 a month. Most of those losses reflect the purge of government workers by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Nearly all the jobs added in December were in the health care and restaurant and hotel industries. Health care added 38,500 jobs, while restaurants and hotels gained 47,000. Governments — mostly at the state and local level — added 13,000.

Manufacturing, construction and retail companies all shed jobs. Retailers cut 25,000 positions, a sign that holiday hiring has been weaker than previous years. Manufacturers have shed jobs every month since April, when Trump announced sweeping tariffs intended to boost manufacturing.

Wall Street and Washington are looking closely at Friday's report as it's the first clean reading on the labor market in three months. The government didn’t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November’s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.

The hiring slowdown reflects more than just a reluctance by companies to add jobs. With an aging population and a sharp drop in immigration, the economy doesn't need to create as many jobs as it has in the past to keep the unemployment rate steady. As a result, a gain of 50,000 jobs is not as clear a sign of weakness as it would have been in previous years.

And layoffs are still low, a sign firms aren't rapidly cutting jobs, as typically happens in a recession. The “low-hire, low-fire” job market does mean current workers have some job security, though those without jobs can have a tougher time.

Ernesto Castro, 44, has applied for hundreds of jobs since leaving his last in May. Yet the Los Angeles resident has gotten just three initial interviews, and only one follow-up, after which he heard nothing.

With nearly a decade of experience providing customer support for software companies, Castro expected to find a new job pretty quickly as he did in 2024.

“I should be in a good position,” Castro said. “It’s been awful.”

He worries that more companies are turning to artificial intelligence to help clients learn to use new software. He hears ads from tech companies that urge companies to slash workers that provide the kind of services he has in his previous jobs. His contacts in the industry say that employees are increasingly reluctant to switch jobs amid all the uncertainty, which leaves fewer open jobs for others.

He is now looking into starting his own software company, and is also exploring project management roles.

December’s report caps a year of sluggish hiring, particularly after April's “liberation day” tariff announcement by Trump. The economy generated an average of 111,000 jobs a month in the first three months of 2025. But that pace dropped to just 11,000 in the three months ended in August, before rebounding slightly to 22,000 in November.

Last year, the economy gained just 584,000 jobs, sharply lower than that more than 2 million added in 2024. It's the smallest annual gain since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the job market in 2020.

Subdued hiring underscores a key conundrum surrounding the economy as it enters 2026: Growth has picked up to healthy levels, yet hiring has weakened noticeably and the unemployment rate has increased in the last four jobs reports.

Most economists expect hiring will accelerate this year as growth remains solid, and Trump's tax cut legislation is expected to produce large tax refunds this spring. Yet economists acknowledge there are other possibilities: Weak job gains could drag down future growth. Or the economy could keep expanding at a healthy clip, while automation and the spread of artificial intelligence reduces the need for more jobs.

Productivity, or output per hour worked, a measure of worker efficiency, has improved in the past three years and jumped nearly 5% in the July-September quarter. That means companies can produce more without adding jobs. Over time, it should also boost worker pay.

Even with such sluggish job gains, the economy has continued to expand, with growth reaching a 4.3% annual rate in last year's July-September quarter, the best in two years. Strong consumer spending helped drive the gain. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecasts that growth could slow to a still-solid 2.7% in the final three months of last year.

FILE - A hiring sign is displayed at a grocery store in Northbrook, Ill., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)