Alexander Zverev has shed the weight that had prevented him from smiling in recent years. The Hamburg player has finally won a Grand Slam tournament. After a decade of failing when it seemed he would win one of the four most coveted tournaments, he was able to raise his arms to the sky in Paris, triumphant. In the Roland Garros final, the German lived up to expectations, defeating Italian Flavio Cobolli in five sets (6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, and 6-1). All the stars had aligned in Zverev's favor this year, and he took advantage of it. First, the defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, withdrew due to injury. Then, the world number 1, Jannik Sinner, was surprisingly eliminated, feeling unwell during his third-round match. And the veteran Serbian Novak Djokovic also did not capitalize on the scenario to reach the final. It was Zverev's year, who at times played with fire, especially after seeing Cobolli force a fifth set. In this last set, however, the player born in Florence collapsed.

Sport sometimes makes fairy tales seem real. All those youngsters who want to be like Serena Williams or Rafa Nadal dream that one day they will reach a Grand Slam final. Few achieve it. But, from time to time, in tennis, logic seems to break into a thousand pieces and an unexpected guest reaches the final. It's as if the system failed and a door opened for a modest athlete. This year, a second-tier player who has been competing for years without making much noise has reached the great final of Roland Garros. The Polish Maja Chwalinska arrived in Paris without attracting anyone's attention and has become, as if by magic, the woman of the moment. In the great final, however, she could not continue surprising everyone and lost in two sets against the Russian Mirra Andreeva, 19 years old. It is the first major title for the Siberian player, who officially competes without a flag, as sanctions against Russian athletes are still in force after the invasion of Ukraine. Andreeva won 6-3 and 6-2 in 1 hour and 22 minutes. Andreeva, coached by the Spaniard Conchita Martínez, has become the first Russian to lift the cup since Maria Sharapova in 2014 and the youngest winner since Monica Seles' third title in 1992.

The organizers of Roland Garros are in despair. First they discovered that Carlos Alcaraz would not be going due to injury. So they prepared to place the crown on Jannik Sinner, who was coming off winning all the clay court tournaments he had played. But the Italian felt unwell in his third-round match against the Argentine Juan Manuel Cerúndolo and surprisingly fell in five sets. "I haven't slept well and I've been wiped out, without energy," he explained afterwards. The organizers had Novak Djokovic left, who at 39 was aiming for one last major triumph. But he also fell, in his case against the Brazilian João Fonseca. While awaiting what the young Madrilenian Rafa Jódar might do, the tournament has been left without stars in the men's draw.And all this in a strange context. The main players, men and women, have been raising their voices in recent months to complain about the prizes they receive. Currently, Grand Slam tournaments allocate 12% and 15% of their profits to awarding prizes to players, which they consider to be too little given the huge amounts of money involved in Melbourne, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Last season, a players' revolt was already simmering, which has escalated this year. Almost all of them have decided to show their discontent not only with their statements but also with their actions. For example, many refuse to participate in Roland Garros organizers' proposals to make viral videos. In press conferences, they answer increasingly briefly and never spend more than fifteen minutes with journalists. If the organizers don't go beyond 15%, they don't go beyond 15 minutes. The first to strongly raise their voice was the best player of the moment, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, world number 1. "When you realize the numbers we generate and see what we players receive... I think we are the ones who put on the show. We are fed up. I feel that without us there would be no tournament, there would be no entertainment. We deserve to be paid a higher percentage. At some point, maybe, we will boycott the Grand Slams, yes. I feel that it is the only way we have to fight for our rights, there is no other," she said. Other players have since joined. Djokovic supported her: "The new generations are arriving and I am happy to see leaders of our sport, like Sabalenka, taking a step forward and truly understanding how tennis politics works." And he added that he was a little disappointed with the two great players of the moment, Sinner and Alcaraz, because they weren't saying anything.