Aryna Sabalenka combined gritty tennis and a playful mood after her second-round victory at the 2026 Roland Garros. The world No. 1, wearing Material Good diamonds, survived a testing opening set to beat Else Jacquemot 7-5, 6-2 and move into the third round.

Sabalenka’s win set the stage for a lighthearted rivalry on the stadium steps. Novak Djokovic drew attention with a Michael Jackson tribute following his second-round win over Valentin Royer, and Sabalenka was coy about answering the gesture.

“I guess we’re bringing it old school, so we’ll have to see what I’m up to,” teased Sabalenka to Caroline Garcia on-court.

Known for her fluency with current Tik Tok dances, Sabalenka declined to spoil her planned clip for the tournament’s official social media ahead of a third-round meeting with Daria Kasatkina. “Wait a little bit, it’ll make everyone more excited,” promised Sabalenka. “I need to remember the dance in my head. I hope I can perform it!”

On court, Sabalenka acknowledged the local support that favored Jacquemot, a former junior Roland Garros champion, and thanked the crowd for its composure. “I know you wanted her to win, but thank you for your respect.”

Beyond the staircase theatrics, the win advances Sabalenka as she pursues a first Grand Slam title of the 2026 season. She came close at the Australian Open in January and was a finalist in Paris last spring. Against Jacquemot she steadied through a tight first set before asserting control in the second.

The match mixed competitive intensity and off-court amusement, with Sabalenka keeping the focus on her next opponent while acknowledging the growing dance-off narrative with Djokovic. The tournament now turns to the next chapter, on court and on the stairs.

On Thursday, the world No. 1 and favorite to win Roland Garros saw a commanding position evaporate and a potential title bid end in dramatic fashion. Jannik Sinner led Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-3, 6-2, 4-1 and even reached match points, but a sudden physical issue changed the match.

Commentary during the match captured the moment’s gravity. “He knows the end is near,” Brian Anderson said. “He’s managing the pain; he’s in tennis’s version of hospice,” Anderson’s booth-mate, Jim Courier, agreed. “He’s just kinda riding this thing to the end.”

Sinner halted play and lifted his lower right leg. “I just need a moment,” he said, according to Mary Jo Fernandez on the sideline. What followed was a rapid reversal. Serving for the match at 5-2, Sinner was broken at love after a double fault. Serving for the match again at 5-4, he began with a double fault and was broken at love. He dropped 15 straight points and watched momentum swing entirely to his opponent.

“I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy,” Sinner said. “Very low of energy. Tried to serve it out, but didn’t have a lot of energy.” He added that the problem began before the match: “Woke up this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short.” He also said, “I felt this morning I didn’t sleep very well,” and, “This morning when I woke up, I was struggling a bit, but you know, this can happen. Usually in Grand Slams you have a couple of days where you don’t feel perfect. This was today.” He summarized the collapse: “I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that’s it.”

Cerundolo, the 56th-ranked Argentine, grew steadier as Sinner faded and completed one of the most unlikely Grand Slam comebacks, winning 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1. Sinner arrived at Paris after a remarkable spring: 31 straight victories and five Masters 1000 titles in 2026, including a clay sweep in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome. He said he will need time to “process what went wrong here.” For now, the tournament continues without the top seed.

Seventeen-year-old Moise Kouame produced a dramatic comeback at his home major, surviving a five-set battle to reach the French Open third round. Kouame opened with a two-set lead over Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, then dropped the third and fourth sets before producing the decisive recovery on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Vallejo led the fifth set 5-2, but Kouame rallied with strong support from the crowd and closed out his first career five-set match 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8). “When we started the tiebreak, I was just telling myself, ‘It’s a 10-point tiebreak,’” he recalled in an interview. “When I was 6-1, I was like, ‘Moise, even if you win this point, it’s not over! It’s not over!’ It was really difficult to accept. I’m very relieved.”

The victory made Kouame the youngest man to reach the third round of the French Open since a 16-year-old Michael Chang in 1988. He also became the youngest to reach this stage at any Grand Slam since Rafael Nadal at 2003 Wimbledon.

Kouame said he will focus on recovery ahead of his next match. “For now, what is in mind is recover as much as possible for the next round. Of course, I’m happy with what I did,” he said of the achievements.

The French teenager had struggled earlier in the season, dropping back-to-back openers on the ATP Challenger Tour, but found form at Roland Garros. A native of nearby Sarcelles and working with Richard Gasquet, Kouame has now recorded wins on two different show courts. He earlier defeated Marin Cilic on Court Simonne-Mathieu and followed with this win on Lenglen.

Asked about the possibility of playing on Philippe Chatrier, Kouame reflected on the significance of the week. “It would be huge. These two courts, I will remember them forever in my tennis career and life in general,” Kouame said. “If I get the chance to play Chatrier, it would be very good.”