If you want to quickly catch my interest in an event, say “it happened 20 years ago today,” or something similar.
Historic context in sports is based on final scores, great performances, and unfathomable upsets. When you add, “it occurred on the anniversary of,” it takes on additional meaning.
American tennis star Coco Gauff won the French Open at Roland-Garros last Saturday two decades to the day since the last American woman won the Grand Slam tournament – Serena Williams, Gauff’s idol as a young Black tennis player.
On June 7, 2005, Williams won the first set 6-3 in Paris over Lucie Safarova, lost the second set 7-6 in a tiebreaker, and won the third 6-2. Williams overcame flu symptoms to win her third and final French Open title.
Gauff, who is 21 and ranked No. 2 in world women’s tennis rankings, had to withstand a first set 6-7 loss to beat Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff methodically bounced back to top Sabalenka, the world’s No. 1 women’s player, 6-2 and 6-4. It was Gauff’s second Grand Slam title, after winning the 2023 U.S. Open.
“I always wanted to win this title. I just felt like this was one that was just really meant to be, and to have it happen still feels so surreal,” said Gauff on NBC’s TODAY on Monday morning.
Gauff lost the French Open title to Iga Świątek in 2022, before winning the U.S. Open the next year.
“The first one, I felt a little bit more shock immediately after the match,” she said.
“This one I just really felt deep down like it was meant to be, that I wanted to do it, and I could do it. I think this one was more just proud than relief.
“I just wanted to prove to people that I can do it again.”
Gauff could soon add a Wimbledon title to her Grand Slam assortment, as the grass court tournament begins on June 30, 2025, in London. She lost to Emma Navarro in the fourth round in 2024 and has never advanced past that round.
Gauff did make history at Wimbledon in 2019 when she became the youngest qualifier in tournament history at age 15. She then shocked the tennis world by beating Venus Williams in the first round.
Wimbledon will be well underway on July 5, 2025, 50 years after a historic day for American tennis and St. Louis.
On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe defeated heavily favored Jimmy Connors of Belleville, Ill., to win the Wimbledon title.
Ashe, who remains the only Black man to win the Wimbledon title, resided in St. Louis in 1961-62 and attended Sumner High School. In his native Richmond, Va., he could not play at many venues because of segregation laws and rarely played white opponents.
The Reid Roundup
After her return flight from Paris to New York touched down, French Open champion Coco Gauff shared her first request on Instagram. “Back in the [USA], someone get me some chicken wings.”…The upstart St. Louis Cardinals won two-of-three games against the L.A. Dodgers last weekend. Shortstop Masyn Winn lifted his batting average to .275 during the series and could make his All-Star Game debut in 2025… Injured Boston Celtics star and St. Louisan Jayson Tatum shared encouraging news on social media last weekend: “Day 25 (since injuring his Achillies) days starting to get a little easier. The comeback will be greater than the setback.”…The St. Louis Battlehawks again failed to reach the United Football League title game in The Dome at America’s Center. The DC Defenders blasted the Battlehawks 36-18 and will play the USFL Conference champion Michigan Panthers here on Saturday evening. “It’s plain and simple, we didn’t execute,” said linebacker Willie Harvey…Kylian Mbappe scored his 50th international goal in France’s 2-0 win over Germany in the bronze medal game of the UEFA Nations League tournament. At 26, he became the fourth youngest player to score 50 international goals…Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a record 72 points during the first two games of his first NBA Finals appearance. The previous record of 71 points was held by Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson against the L.A. Lakers in 2001.