Winners of the tournament
A match that will be remembered for the rest of time, Carlos Alcaraz inflicted a first Grand Slam final defeat on Jannik Sinner after a truly miraculous and barely believable 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-6(2) victory over his Italian opponent, winning his second French Open title and his fifth Grand Slam crown.
The Spaniard looked down and out as he stared down the barrel. He had never come back from two sets down before, and Sinner was playing at a scarily high level. However, he dug as deep as he possibly could, saving three championship points in the process, as he reigned victorious in a five-hour and 29-minute thriller - the longest final in Roland Garros history and the second longest in Slam history.
Sinner will be absolutely devastated after missing those golden chances in the fourth set, but Alcaraz has this freakish ability to just produce top gear and reach otherworldly levels when he really needs to. Time and time again, he has done that in his career, showing the most phenomenal mental strength. His performance in the final set tiebreak was a sight to behold, as he raced to a 7-0 lead with perfect tennis.
It will go down as one of the greatest tennis matches of all time, and this new modern-day rivalry is truly blossoming. A rivalry that will hopefully start transcending the sport and capture the hearts and imaginations of new fans.
Alcaraz has now beaten Sinner five times in a row, and the world number one will be desperately trying to work out a way to beat this martian. However, he should take heart in the fact that he was so close to winning on a surface he has struggled on against an opponent whose favourite surface is clay. Who is for a rematch at Wimbledon next month?
Meanwhile, over on the women's side of the tournament, American Coco Gauff capped off a fine clay-court season with a dramatic 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final, winning her second Grand Slam and her first here in Paris.
It was a tough match to watch, and in typical Gauff fashion, she didn't play the best tennis throughout the tournament, yet she keeps finding ways to win. Her athleticism, tennis IQ and mentality continue to be unmatched, and she was able to grind down and frustrate Aryna Sabalenka, who made 70 unforced errors and seemed to lose her cool.
At 21 years old, she is forging a superb career for herself on the court, and she carries herself magnificently off it.
It was utter heartbreak for Sabalenka though, who was the favourite throughout the tournament, especially after beating three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the final.
However, she was just unable to manage the windy conditions and the retrieval skills of Gauff, and she was extremely emotional following the match.
In her press conference, she was extremely critical of her own performance, and also downplayed Gauff's too.
"It was really honestly the worst tennis I’ve played in the last, I don’t know, in the last I don’t know how many months,” she said. “Conditions were terrible, and she simply was better in these conditions than me. I think it was the worst final I ever played.
“Today was just, yeah, I mean, honestly sometimes it felt like she was hitting the ball from the frame. Somehow magically the ball lands in the court, and you kind of, like, on the back foot. Yeah, it’s just, you know, like - it felt like a joke, honestly, like somebody from above was just staying there laughing, like, let’s see if you can handle this.
“I don’t know, I think if Iga would win against me the other day, I think she would go out today and she would get the win. Yeah, it just hurts. Honestly hurts. I’ve been playing really well, and then in the last match, go out there and perform like I did, that hurts.”
Strugglers of the tournament
Stefanos Tsitsipas' torrid form just shows no sign of slowing down. Once a finalist at the French Open and someone who was so good on the clay, the Greek suffered an abysmal second-round exit to world number 167 Matteo Gigante, meaning he himself dropped to 26 in the rankings - his lowest in nearly seven years.
Following his defeat, Tsitsipas announced the high-profile appointment of former player Goran Ivanisevic as his new coach - the man who helped Novak Djokovic to nine Grand Slam titles. He will be hoping that he can turn his fortunes around.
Another player who has reached the final at this tournament - on two occasions - Casper Ruud also fell in the second round in shock fashion to Nuno Borges. The Norwegian seemed to be struggling with injury, but it was still a massively disappointing result for him, and he has also dropped down to 16th in the world as a result.
On the women's side of the draw, world number nine Emma Navarro was dumped out in the first round after suffering a brutal 6-0, 6-1 defeat at the hands of Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. To see such an incredible fighter like Navarro succumb to a loss like this was a major shock, but all credit to her Spanish opponent, who played some brilliant tennis.
Moment of the tournament
After Rafael Nadal's damp squib of a send-off in the Davis Cup finals at the end of the 2024 season, the French Open announced ahead of the tournament that they would be holding a special ceremony for the all-time great. Nadal won a staggering 14 French Open crowns, and they wanted to celebrate him in style.
And they did just that. With the crowd all donning orange shirts to represent the colour of the clay, Nadal cut an emotional figure as he gave a speech and a highlight reel was played of his greatest moment.
But then, to the delight of everyone watching, his greatest rivals and fellow legends of the game, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray took to the court to share the moment with him, which produced some fantastic images.
Last but not least, the French Open unveiled a plaque with Nadal's footprint right next to the court on Philippe-Chatrier, making him a permanent fixture at his favourite venue. Nadal couldn't contain his emotions as this was revealed, capping off a magnificent ceremony and moment.
Rallies of the tournament
There were some absolutely magnificent rallies on the claycourts of Paris this fortnight, with players forced to battle and dig deep to win points.
Holger Rune produced a jaw-dropping around-the-net shot, Djokovic rolled back the years to win a mesmerising 41-shot rally against Alexander Zverev, while Gauff showcased her never-say-die attitude and brilliant backhand to steal a point against Sabalenka in the final.
Upcoming tournament
The clay-court season has now come to an end, and the ATP and WTA Tours move very quickly onto the grass, with Wimbledon already fast approaching.
In London, Queen's Club welcomes back a women's tournament for the first time in 50 years, which is sure to be a fantastic occasion. Qinwen Zheng, Madison Keys, Navarro and Elena Rybakina are the top seeds.
Over in Hertogenbosch, Liudmila Samsonova and Ekaterina Alexandrova are the top seeds, while Daniil Medvedev and Ugo Humbert headline the men's tournament.
Finally, there is a heavyweight cast in Stuttgart, with Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime leading the way.
Check out the draws for WTA Queen's, WTA Hertogenbosch, ATP Hertogenbosch and ATP Stuttgart.