Can Iga Swiatek four-peat at Roland Garros? — Hear from French Open contenders
By Joey Dillon
The IX: Tennis Tuesday with Joey Dillon, May 27, 2025
Howdy, y’all and Happy Tennis Tuesday! The second Grand Slam of the season began Sunday with select first round matches while the opening round will continue today. Yesterday already saw the first big upset in the women’s draw with No. 9 Emma Navarro not only losing to Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, but only winning one game in the process. Spoiler alert, she was in my predictions at the end of this column so she had to get the good old-fashioned strikethrough.
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The draw was unveiled and, to be honest, while Aryna Sabalenka is dominating much of the year and players like Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini finding fine clay-court form, all eyes are going to be on Iga Swiatek. Last year, the Pole won her third consecutive Roland Garros crown and surprisingly hasn’t won a title since. She’s seen a dip in form and has gone from No. 1 this time last year to currently entering Paris as the No. 5 seed. While she won her opener against Rebecca Sramkova, she awaits Emma Raducanu in the next round. While she dropped only one game against the Brit in their Australian Open meeting, the two had a two tough matchups on the clay in Stuttgart. The true nemesis of Swiatek — Jelena Ostapenko, who holds a 6-0 record against the Pole — could await in the fourth round, but that berth is slated for Elena Rybakina, who could defeat anyone on any day. A rematch of last year’s final against Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals and then Aryna Sabalenka in the semis could also await.
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Entering Paris with a 27-9 record is something most players would prefer, but within Swiatek’s 2025 record includes only a “measly” 6-3 ledger on the red clay — a surface she usually dominates. While that might be a bit alarming, anything can turn around for her in Paris. She’s won 21 straight matches at Roland Garros and also won the bronze medal there last year at the Olympics. Still, I would be remiss to not discuss that Swiatek isn’t the same player she was a year ago. She seems more tense, fragile and struggles to let her mistakes stay in the past. I do think working with new coach Wim Fissette is a right choice, but the dynamic has seemed a little contentious in spurts — especially during the Sunshine Swing. I thought his coaching seat was a bit hot if her clay season didn’t pan well and he’s still here. If she doesn’t earn a record fourth-consecutive title, will he be let go?
Again, you can never count Swiatek out but she’s no longer the hot favorite. To me, there really isn’t a standout favorite because everyone’s been upset or played some tennis that could see them lose early. To me, there are three players that are the ones to really watch out for but they likely won’t be a surprise to you:
Now, lets go through some predictions. I admit, I was a bit surprised by how basic they were but overall the draw seemed pretty balanced. Because this is 1. a Grand Slam and 2. Roland Garros, where so much “WTFs” happen, don’t expect this to pan out:
Round of 16
(1) Aryna Sabalenka def. (22) Clara Tauson
(8) Zheng Qinwen def. (11) Diana Shnaider
(4) Jasmine Paolini def. (13) Elina Svitolina
(5) Iga Swiatek def. (12) Elena Rybakina
(6) Mirra Andreeva def. (17) Daria Kasatkina
(3) Jessica Pegula def. (24) Elise Mertens
(7) Madison Keys def. (9) Emma Navarro
(2) Coco Gauff def. (20) Ekaterina Alexandrova
Quarterfinals
(1) Aryna Sabalenka def. (8) Zheng Qinwen
(5) Iga Swiatek def. (4) Jasmine Paolini
(6) Mirra Andreeva def. (3) Jessica Pegula
(2) Coco Gauff def. (7) Madison Keys
Semifinals
(1) Aryna Sabalenka def. (5) Iga Swiatek
(2) Coco Gauff def. (6) Mirra Andreeva
Final
(1) Aryna Sabalenka def. (2) Coco Gauff
On to links!
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This Week in Women’s Tennis
Both the ATP and WTA have asked the courts to throw out the antitrust lawsuit that was filed by the Professional Players Tennis Association.
Elena Rybakina won her first title in 13 months at the Internationaux de Strasbourg, taking out Liudmila Samsonova in the final. The doubles title was won by Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani, who defeated Guo Hanyu and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
At the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Maya Joint won the first two WTA titles of her career. The Australian beat Jaqueline Cristian to win her first singles title, one day after teaming up with Oksana Kalashnikova to win the doubles crown over Angelica Moratelli and Camilla Rosatello.
The WTA’s partnership with Indiana University East was highlighted by Forbes. Players like Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens and newest graduate Kayla Day have taken advantage of the program to have a backup after their playing career ends.
Both Caroline Garcia and Yanina Wickmayer have announced retirement plans of some sort with the Frenchwoman sharing that this will be her last year and the Belgian playing Wimbledon as her farewell:
The USTA unveiled plans for an $800 million project that is the single-largest investment in the tournament’s entire 145-year history.
Be sure to check out John Parson’s recap of the NCAA team championships:
TIME’s inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy List was announced and Billie Jean King was one of the names to be included.
Tweet of the Week
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Five at The IX: Strasbourg, Rabat, Paris
“No matter the results of today, I played some tough matches, tough opponents [this week]….Now I think that I have a little bit more confidence coming to Paris, and hopefully I can play as good as I played here, and even better.” – Strasbourg champion Elena Rybakina
“It must be something about Morocco….I think conditions today really tested both of us; it was a lot different than the rest of the week.” – Maya Joint after claiming the Rabat double.
“Me, I’m happy to be back after two months. It was a tough journey, so finally being back and getting minutes on court, I really appreciate it. I’m still very far from my level, but hopefully I can be there soon.” – Paula Badosa after her back injury forced another mini-layoff.
“So ranking doesn’t really matter anymore. I’m just trying to focus on my game, and nowadays I know I can do well on clay, so arriving here I feel really strong and super excited, and hopefully this is going to be the year when I’m really going to be proud of myself on the clay court.” – Aryna Sabalenka doesn’t try to see her No. 1 ranking as she preps for Roland Garros.
“I want to be more positive about what I’m doing and not focus too much on the mistakes a little bit and kind of just go for it. Be more brave.” – Iga Swiatek as she attempts for a fourth consecutive Roland Garros title.
| Mondays: Soccer |
| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
| Tuesdays: Tennis |
| By: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer |
| Wednesdays: Basketball |
| By: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The Next |
| Thursdays: Golf |
| By: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX |
| Fridays: Hockey |
| By: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden |
| Saturdays: Gymnastics |
| By: Lela Moore, @runlelarun, Freelance Writer |
