Thu, May 29, 2025 page6

• Taiwanese wins Roland Garros opener

  STRONG CONNECTION: Although she has considered switching nationalities, Garland said that if it was not for Taiwan’s support throughout her career, she would not be in Paris

  • Staff writer, with CNA and AFP, PARIS
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  British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese to clinch a victory in a main singles draw of the French Open since 2020 after she outlasted the US’ Katie Volynets in Paris.

  The world No. 175, Taiwan’s highest-ranked female player in singles, said she would rely on her self-belief as she prepares for her second-round match at the French Open after overcoming a serious injury to qualify for a maiden Grand Slam appearance.

  After navigating her way through the qualifiers last week, Garland secured her first win at the main draw of a Grand Slam by battling past world No. 65 Volynets 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at Roland Garros.

  

  British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland celebrates after beating Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsman to qualify for the women’s singles main draw at the French Open in Paris on Friday last week.

  Photo courtesy of the Roland Garros Web site

  Tuesday’s win was the culmination of a long journey for the 23-year-old through injury and doubts to reach the pinnacle of tennis.

  The last time a Taiwanese player won a singles match in the main draw of the French Open was in September 2020, when Taiwanese veteran Hsieh Su-wei defeated then-world No. 143 Barbara Haas to advance to the second round.

  “I’m still in a little bit of disbelief because I was quite far down in the third set and felt like I didn’t have much more to give,” Garland said after winning four straight games in the decider. “So yeah, quite a bit in disbelief, but of course I’m happy that I won and I really did, going out into the match, I did believe I could pull it off.”

  After a promising junior career which featured a win over future Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, Garland has endured an up-and-down start to life in the senior tour, missing most of last year with injury and dropping out of the top 500.

  “I rolled my ankle in practice and I actually did it quite badly,” she said. “Looking back at it, I didn’t realize that at the time. I tried coming back too soon and messed it up even more. I really struggled and at times did question whether I was ever going to reach where I am now.”

  However, she fought her way back to fitness and quashed any uncertainty she might have had about continuing by racking up a 29-match ITF winning streak to end last season and reach a career-high ranking. Now Garland is in the second round of a major, where she is to face 32nd seed Yulia Putintseva.

  “Obviously, she’s a great player. I have a lot of respect for her and I know it’s not going to be an easy match at all,” Garland said. “I’m just going to try to get myself ready in the best way possible and back myself. That’s what I’ve been doing this whole week. I’ve been believing in myself and hopefully that can bring out my best tennis.”

  Should she beat the Kazakh former world No. 20, she would likely move on to face the sixth seed and rising star of tennis Mirra Andreeva in the round-of-32.

  Born in England, Garland moved to Taiwan with her parents before her teenage years.

  However, she said the choice to represent Taiwan rather than the UK was a natural one for her.

  “I didn’t really give it [choosing her sporting nationality] much thought and neither did my parents,” she said. “I do remember being a 12-year-old and watching the Olympic Games in London and seeing the Chinese Taipei [Taiwan] team walk out and having such a small team. So I told my parents that I felt like the team’s so small that I want to represent them in the future.”

  The UK, as a host nation for one of the four tennis Grand Slams, is a tempting choice for any rising player and representing her country of birth could have provided Garland with an easier route to reaching the main draw of a major earlier in her career.

  “I did consider switching nationalities at times, but the Taipei federation has supported me financially throughout my whole career,” she said. “I wouldn’t be here in this position if it wasn’t for them. I do feel a strong connection with Taiwan.”

  In women’s doubles yesterday, ninth seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and partner Giuliana Olmos of Mexico were in a tiebreaker with McCartney Kessler of the US and Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands in the opening round on court 3 when the match was suspended due to rain. Chan and Olmos won the first set 6-3, before losing 7-5 in the second. They were tied 6-6 when the game was interrupted.

  Tenth seeds Wu Fang-hsien of Taiwan and her partner Jiang Xianyu of China were to face Colombia’s Camila Osorio and Alycia Parks of the US after press time last night.

  Third seeds Hsieh, who won the French Open in 2023, and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko were today to open their women’s doubles campaign against the Czech Republic’s Marie Bouzkova and Marketa Vondrousova.
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