Meet the surprise semifinalists at this year’s ridiculous French Open

By Ben Church, CNN

(CNN) — It’s fair to say that even the most specialized tennis expert would have struggled to predict the semifinalists for this year’s French Open.

For so many years, it’s been the same old faces playing each other in these latter stages of grand slams. But not this year.

Through a mixture of injury, shock results and perhaps the sweltering heat last week, the final four across both the men’s and women’s brackets is looking very unfamiliar, with not a single grand slam winner left in it.

So to help you, and us, learn more about those remaining in the competition, CNN Sports has taken a look into their respective careers.

Marta Kostyuk

Starting with the women’s bracket and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

The 23-year-old has already made history by beating Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, becoming the first Ukrainian woman to reach the last four at Roland Garros in the Open Era, while also reaching the first major semifinal of her career.

Despite still being relatively young, Kostyuk has been around the tour for quite some time, making her grand slam debut back in 2018 at the Australian Open.

Despite being just 15 at the time, she reached the third round before being knocked out by none other than her compatriot Svitolina.

Kostyuk then spent many years battling to maintain her rankings and struggled to make a big impact at the major events. That changed in 2024, when she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

Now, she’s enjoying the best form of her life and is currently world No. 15.

While being ecstatic with her achievement this week, Kostyuk also dedicated her emotional quarterfinal win to the people of Ukraine, amid the ongoing war with Russia.

Mirra Andreeva

Notably, Kostyuk will play Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva for a place in the French Open final.

Despite being younger, 19-year-old Andreeva has more experience at this level, having previously made the semifinal at Roland Garros in 2024.

Like Kostyuk, the Russian was also a child prodigy and made her name on the professional tour when she started breaking records at just 17.

In 2025, she became the youngest player to claim a WTA 1000 title and the youngest to climb into the top 10 of the world rankings since 2007.

She is now ranked No. 8 in the world and is playing on her favorite clay surface in Paris.

Diana Shnaider

Another Russian youngster will also be hoping to make it to Saturday’s final, and that’s Diana Shnaider.

The 22-year-old has been on the run of a lifetime in Paris, beating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals earlier on Wednesday – one of the biggest shocks in a quite ridiculous tournament so far.

She also saw off American Madison Keys in the earlier rounds on the way to her best-ever grand slam campaign – her deepest major run before this week was a round of 16 finish at the US Open in 2024.

“Well, honestly I am speechless. Super happy,” Shnaider said after beating Sabalenka in three sets to reach the semifinals.

In 2022, Shnaider moved to study and train in the US, attending North Carolina State University before launching her career on the professional tour.

Maja Chwalińska

Incredibly, at just 24, Maja Chwalińska is the oldest semifinalist left in the women’s tournament. She will face Shnaider on Thursday as she hopes to continue her own fairytale run.

The Polish player had to come through qualifying to make it to the main draw, but she hasn’t looked back since.

Incredibly, this is just Chwalińska’s third time competing in a grand slam main draw, with her first attempt coming back at Wimbledon 2022. Her second time qualifying was not until the Australian Open three years later.

The current world No. 114 really wasn’t expecting to stay more than a week in Paris, admitting that she struggled to book accommodation in the French capital as she kept rolling through the rounds this week.

“Coming here, my goal was to qualify. I feel like I’m doing a good job, that I do the right things and I just needed to be patient for it to click,” she said after reaching the semifinals.

“I want to leave Roland Garros this year without any regrets. I just want to give my all.”

Chwalińska’s run means she’ll also break into the Top 100 for the first time in her career. It’s quite the turnaround for a player who stepped away from tennis in 2021 after struggling with her mental health.

Alexander Zverev

Now to the men’s bracket and perhaps the only unsurprising name on this list: Alexander Zverev. The German is currently the world No. 3 and has come so close to winning a grand slam on multiple occasions.

His first major final defeat came at the US Open in 2020 and he also lost the French Open final in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2025.

In truth, Zverev and his generation have had it tough on the court. He was breaking through when the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were still around and is now competing with the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

So, when Alcaraz pulled out of this year’s Roland Garros injured and Sinner exited the tournament early on, all eyes turned to Zverev.

The 29-year-old might not get a better opportunity to get his hands on a grand slam trophy.

“I’d say there is more pressure on him now to win a major, than at any time in his career,” tennis great John McEnroe said on TNT Sports after Zverev won his quarterfinal match.

Jakub Menšík

If Zverev was expected to reach this stage, his opponent, Jakub Menšík, wasn’t so much.

But, throughout this year’s French Open, the 20-year-old has shown why he could be a real contender for the future, knocking out a host of higher seeds to reach his first grand slam semifinal.

The Czech player only broke into the Top 100 back in 2025 and won his first ATP title that same year after beating Novak Djokovic in the final of the Miami Open.

He’s since followed that breakthrough season with a fourth-round finish at this year’s Australian Open, before beating Sinner in February to record his biggest win to date.

He faces a tough challenge against Zverev on Friday, not least because he was seen cramping up while speaking to the media after winning his quarterfinal.

Flavio Cobolli

It seems like we don’t know much at this year’s French Open, but we do know one thing for sure: there will be an Italian man in the French Open final.

That’s because Flavio Cobolli reached his first grand slam semifinal on Wednesday, meaning the Italian will face compatriot Matteo Arnaldi in the last four.

It’s the first time that two Italians will play each other in a grand slam semifinal since the start of the Open Era – another feather in the cap for Italian tennis.

Cobolli, 24, loves playing on clay and this has been the best run of his career. He started the year as the world No. 22 but is now knocking on the door of breaking into the Top 10.

“The best week of my life,” Cobolli said after reaching the final four on Wednesday.

Matteo Arnaldi

Joining Cobolli in the semifinals is Matteo Arnaldi. The Italian, like many of the other semifinalists this year, is having the best run of his career, going beyond the fourth round in a major for the first time this week.

The world No. 104 will be fresh for his meeting with compatriot Cobolli as well, given he progressed through the quarterfinals after opponent Matteo Berrettini withdrew with injury.

Arnaldi was about to go two sets up before Berrettini called time on his effort because of an apparent hip injury.

“It’s a tough one,” Arnaldi said after making his maiden grand slam semifinal.

“We both played a lot, so it’s normal to not be at our best, but you never wish someone to end their tournament like this. He did an amazing tournament. We are all doing such a good job in Italy.”

It’s been an incredible turn around for the 25-year-old Arnaldi who started this year with eight straight defeats. Now, he’s two wins away from the most unlikely grand slam title.

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