French Open: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka ends Swiatek's reign and meets No. 2 Coco Gauff for the trophy

PARIS (AP) — Flecks of rust-colored clay dotted Aryna Sabalenka's back and caked her white shoes as she ripped big shot after big shot against Iga Swiatek on Thursday, the thud of racket-on-string reverberating off the closed roof at the main stadium at Roland Garros.

So used to hearing — and believing — she was a fast-court specialist who couldn't succeed on the slower red clay used at Roland-Garros, the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka showed just how good she can be on the surface by ending Swiatek's 26-match unbeaten streak at the French Open and bid for a record fourth consecutive trophy with a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 win in Thursday's semifinals.

Now Sabalenka will try to win her fourth Grand Slam title — and first not on a hard court — when she takes on No. 2 Coco Gauff in Saturday's final. It will be the first title match in Paris between the Nos. 1 and 2 women since 2013 and just the second in the past 30 years.

“It's going to mean everything to me and my team, because I have to say that almost (my) whole life, I’ve been told (clay) is not my thing, and then I didn’t have any confidence,” Sabalenka said. “In the past — I don’t know how many years — we’ve been able to develop my game so much, so I feel really comfortable on this surface and actually enjoy playing on clay.”

Gauff, a 21-year-old American who was the runner-up in 2022 to Swiatek, reached her second French Open final by beating 361st-ranked French wild-card entry Loïs Boisson 6-1, 6-2 in a far-less-interesting, far-less-competitive semifinal.

“My first final here, I was super nervous, and I kind of wrote myself off before the match even happened,” said Gauff, who is 5-5 against Sabalenka and beat her for the 2023 U.S. Open title at age 19. “Obviously, here, I have a lot more confidence just from playing a Grand Slam final before and doing well in one.”

Much to the chagrin of the 15,000 or so locals pulling for their countrywoman at Court Philippe-Chatrier, Gauff vs. Boisson wasn’t much of a contest, as might be expected from their rankings and relative experience.

Then again, that didn’t stop Boisson from eliminating both No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 6 Mirra Andreeva en route to becoming the first woman since 1989 to get to the semifinals in her Grand Slam debut.

Loud as the crowd was, repeatedly singing Boisson’s first name, Gauff’s play spoke volumes, too, as she took 20 of the first 30 points for a 4-0 lead. That pattern held, and by the end, Gauff had claimed 34 of the 51 points that lasted at least five strokes.

Most remarkable about Sabalenka’s win was the way she dominated in crunch time, racing through the last set.

“I mean, 6-love,” she said. “What can I say? Couldn’t be more perfect than that.”

Swiatek’s explanation?

“I lost my intensity a bit,” she said. “Just couldn’t push back.”

This stat says it all: The third set included 12 unforced errors off Swiatek’s racket, and zero off Sabalenka’s.

This continues a rough stretch for Swiatek, a 24-year-old from Poland, who hasn't reached a final at any tournament since walking away with her third trophy in a row — and fifth Grand Slam title overall — from Paris 12 months ago. She recently slid to No. 5 in the rankings.

Her rut includes a loss in the semifinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Later last season, she was suspended for a month after testing positive for a banned substance; her explanation was accepted that the result was caused by a contaminated medicine.

Sabelanka is, unquestionably, as good as it gets in women’s tennis right now.

“She didn’t doubt,” Swiatek said. “She just went for it.”

Even though Sabalenka broke in the first game and soon led 4-1 — at which point Swiatek was glancing up at her coach, Wim Fissette, in the stands, hoping for some sort of insight that could change things — this was not one-way traffic. Swiatek ended up leading 5-4 in that set, but when they got to the tiebreaker, Sabalenka asserted herself.

Did the same in the last set.

“It was a big match, and it felt like a final," said Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open twice and the U.S. Open once. “But I know that the job is not done yet.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Winner Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Poland's Iga Swiatek hug after their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates as she won the semifinal match of the French Tennis Open against France's Lois Boisson at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

France's Lois Boisson reacts as she plays against Coco Gauff of the U.S. during their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Coco Gauff of the U.S. plays a shot against France's Lois Boisson during their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Coco Gauff of the U.S. reacts as she plays against France's Lois Boisson during their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

The clay stuck to the back of Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka after a fall during the semifinal match of the French Tennis Open against Poland's Iga Swiatek at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Poland's Iga Swiatek checks a mark on the clay as she plays against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Poland's Iga Swiatek is reflected in a glass as she plays a shot against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Referees are reflected in a glass as Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts during the semifinal match of the French Tennis Open against Poland's Iga Swiatek at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts as she plays against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their semifinal match of the French Tennis Open at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)