The 6 women to finish runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year as Jasmine Paolini joins unlucky list
07/14/2024 04:56 AM
Jasmine Paolini has joined an unfortunate club of women’s players to collect Roland Garros-Wimbledon runners-up trophies in the same year following her back-to-back Grand Slam finals defeats.
Reaching any Grand Slam final is a big honour for any player, never mind two in the same year and two in the space of a month as the Roland Garros and Wimbledon take place back-to-back.
But only six women have managed to finish runner-up in Paris and London in the same year with two women managing to achieve the unfortunate feat twice.
The 6 players to finish runner-up at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year:
Evonne Goolagong – 1972
A year after completing the unique Channel Slam by winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, Evonne Goolagong found herself on the other end of the scale as she became the first woman in the Open Era to finish runner-up at both events.
In fact, the Australian finished runner-up in the first three major events of the year as she was also a finalist at the Australian Open.
Goolagong was the top seed at Roland Garros, but lost 6-3, 6-3 against Billie Jean King, who won her maiden title at Roland Garros.
Just over a month later King again proved to be Goolagong’s nemesis as the American also defeated her in the Wimbledon final.
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Chris Evert – 1973 and 1984
Tennis great Chris Evert won an incredible 18 Grand Slams, but she finished runner-up in her first two major finals and those were at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year.
Evert didn’t drop a set en route to reaching her first-ever Grand Slam final as she met Margaret Court in the Roland Garros showpiece match, but she lost in three sets.
The American got her revenge on Court in the semi-final at Wimbledon, but she then lost against King in the final.
Nine years later Evert again did the “double” of finishing runner-up at both events as she lost both finals against Martina Navratilova. Evert also finished runner-up at the US Open that year while she won the Australian Open.
Olga Morozova – 1974
Olga Morozova reached her only two Grand Slam finals in 1974, but she finished runner-up both times.
This time Evert was the player to complete the Channel Slam as she first defeated the Soviet-born player 6–1, 6–2 in the French Open final and followed it up with a 6–0, 6–4 victory at Wimbledon.
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario – 1995 and 1996
Spare a thought for Arantxa Sanchez Vicario as she completed the unwanted feat in back-to-back seasons.
The Spaniard was already a three-time Grand Slam winner when she finished runner-up in the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon finals in 1995. After losing in Melbourne to Mary Pierce, Sanchez Vicario lost the Roland Garros and Wimbledon finals to Steffi Graf.
Sanchez Vicario was back in the Paris and SW19 finals again in 1996, but she once again came up short against Graf on both occasions.
Venus Williams – 2002
The great Venus Williams won the Wimbledon-US Open double in 2000 and 2001. She reached her first and only French Open final in 2002, but lost in straight sets against sister Serena.
Venus was also defeated by Serena in the Wimbledon and the US Open final. In fact Serena beat Venus in four consecutive Grand Slam finals as the younger Williams sister also went on to win the 2003 Australian Open final.
Jasmine Paolini – 2024
More than two decades after Williams’ feat, Jasmine Paolini joined the club as she also finished runner-up at the Channel Slam.
The Italian reached her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros and lost in straight sets against defending champion Iga Swiatek. A month later she reached a second major final, but this time she went down 2–6, 6–2, 4–6 against Barbora Krejcikova.
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