Matt Ebden and John Peers are back at the scene of their Olympic triumph – and they’re not ruling out a glorious reprise after advancing to the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
Paris, France, 3 June 2025 | Ian Chadband, AAP
Whatever happens in the rest of their distinguished tennis careers, Matt Ebden and John Peers swear they’ll always have Paris.
But back in the City of Light, the veteran Australian doubles duo are still adamant that, even if their Olympic triumph in the French capital will forever be impossible to top, they still haven’t given up on adding more Grand Slams to their distinguished resumes.
Their assignment continues on the Roland Garros clay courts where they still get a tingle when thinking about that glorious day on Court Philippe Chatrier last August, when they became only the second Australian Olympic tennis champions in Games annals.
> MORE: Golden celebrations for Ebden and Peers in Paris
“It still is the place for us. And that’s the great thing, forever more it will be the place,” Ebden said as the pair reminisced about their great day in an interview with AAP.
“It’s always good to come back to a place where you’ve had success, and for Matt and I, it’ll always be amazing coming back here, no matter how many years pass,” Peers added.
The veteran duo – Peers, 36 and Ebden, 37 – have so far negotiated three rounds on their return to Roland Garros as the 15th-seeded pair, next facing British eighth seeds Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski on Tuesday in a quarterfinal showdown.
All three matches were on outside courts, and the pair still haven’t ventured back to Chatrier to revisit their finest hour when they beat Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the Olympic gold medal match. However, their trip to Court Simonne Mathieu on Tuesday edges them closer to the scene of their success.
“You’ve got to earn your way back up there to Chatrier. Yeah, we’ve got to fight, fight, fight through,” smiled Ebden.
Their one-off Olympic victory proved the precursor to the pair, who are great friends and live just a few kilometres away from each other in Perth, deciding to make a go of it this season as a full-time partnership on the tour.
> READ: Ebden and Peers awarded Order of Australia medals
“I had a long-term partner for the last two years (Rohan Bopanna) that was probably going to come to an end at the end of last year, so I was then going to look for a partner for this year,” Ebden said.
“John had a bit of a partnership going late last year (with Jamie Murray), and when we spoke at the end of the year, the timing wasn’t quite right.”
“So we started the year with different people and then, funnily, teamed up again at Davis Cup, so we put in more practice there, won our match there and practised together at home. And we thought maybe we should take this on to the tour and have a crack, and since Indian Wells (in March), we’ve been fighting through together.”
Their partnership is more than just a reunion, though, with their ambition to add to their trophy cabinet remaining strong.
“We want to see how many more Masters and Slams we can win, basically until, well, who knows how long we’ve got left,” Ebden said.
“Is it one year? Is it seven years? Or somewhere in between? I don’t know how long. Parts of me and my body feel like I can play another 10 years, other parts feel like I would be happy to retire! So honestly, I don’t know, but hopefully a few more years at least. Let’s see – one year at a time.
“We’re not here to make up numbers, we’re here to go deep and win.”
Ebden and Peers join three other Australians in action on Day 10.
Junior world No.2 Emerson Jones headlines the junior contingent taking to the court as she continues her girls’ singles run in Paris. The 16-year-old banked her first victory at Roland Garros 2025 with a 6-1 1-6 6-2 win over American Capucine Jauffret.
She faces Wimbledon 2024 semifinalist Vendula Valdmannova in the second round.
You can watch the Roland Garros 2025 action live in Australia on the Nine Network and Stan Sport from 7pm AEST.
AUSSIES IN ACTION
COMING UP – ROLAND GARROS DAY 9
Men’s doubles, quarterfinals
[15] Matt Ebden [AUS]/John Peers [AUS] v [8] Joe Salisbury [GBR]/Neal Skupski [GBR] – Second match, Court Simonne Mathieu
Girls’ singles, second round
[1] Emerson Jones [AUS] v Vendula Valdmannova [CZE] – First match, Court 9
Girls’ doubles, first round
[1] Emerson Jones [AUS]/Hannah Klugman [GBR] v Eva Bennemann [GER]/Sonja Zhenikhova [GER] – Fourth match, Court 6
Boys’ doubles, first round
Ty Host [AUS]/Karim Bennani [MAR] v Linus Lagerbohm [FIN]/William Rejchtman [SWE] – Third match, Court 9
Cruz Hewitt [AUS]/Joao Pedro Didoni Bonini [BRA] v [8] Oliver Bonding [GBR]/Jack Leach [USA] – Fourth match, Court 9
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