Contenders Lining Up, Eyeing Iga Swiatek’s French Open Crown

The French Open women’s tournament is starting this weekend without a clear favorite for the first time in several years, with a pocket of players in a strong form and Iga Swiatek undergoes an unprecedented crisis. Jasmine Paolini has become the eighth different player to reach a WTA 1000 final this season at the Italian Open last week before defeating Coco Gauff to get the biggest title of her career. Aryna Sabalenka has solidified his position as a world number one while Swiatek, winner of four Roland Garros titles in the past five years, has not reached the tour level since he raised his third successive France Open of France almost 12 months.

Sabalenka briefly passed from its best form after an Australian surprise final defeat against Madison Keys before bouncing with the titles of Miami and Madrid Open.

“I’m really hungry and angry-angry in the right direction and I think that in the end, the Australian Open final pushed me to work even harder,” she told WTA.

“(That) explained to me that you really have to work hard in the final and that you have to win your victories. It was a good push for me.”

But Belarusian also showed signs of fragility and was well beaten by Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals of Rome.

The triple Grand Chelem champion has never reached the final of Roland Garros and could face Swiatek in the last eight.

She left the Open of France at this stage last year when she abandoned an advance in a set on the way to the defeat by Mirra Andreeva.

The first final appearances of Gauff in Madrid and Rome helped her return to a career ranking of the world number two, giving him the second sowing for Paris.

The 21 -year -old woman, former finalist of Roland Garros, has been waiting for her first title since the WTA final last year.

“I hope I can get to Roland Garros’ final and maybe the” third time Lucky “is a real thing,” Gauff told Rome in Paolini.

Jessica Pegula also equaled her best career ranking in third, but only exceeded the third round of the French Open.

The finalist losing last year, Paolini, the fourth seeded, will be full of confidence after having sealed the greatest trophy of his career in front of his fans of the house at the Italian Open.

Andreeva looking at the major breakthrough

Several young players made their mark during the WTA tour this season, led by the Russian teenager Andreeva.

She became the youngest champion of a WTA 1000 title in Dubai in February, before saving him with an even more impressive triumph at Indian Wells.

Today, 18 years old, Andreeva is undoubtedly among the favorites of the French capital when she aims to become the youngest champion of the Simple Grand Chelem since compatriot Maria Sharapova won the title of Wimbledon 2004.

The world number six has proven its prowess on the clay, reaching the semi-finals of Roland Garros last year and the quarters of Madrid and Rome this season.

Andreeva’s 21 -year -old Russian compatriot, Diana Shnaider, is at the dawn of the top 10 in the world and is another that could upset the biggest names.

The Zheng in China, 22, hopes to reproduce the form that brought it to Olympic gold to Roland Garros last summer and is eighth row.

The best -classified stars also hope to avoid the teenager non -series Alexandra Eala in the draw after a breakthrough campaign who helped the 19 -year -old young man to become the first Philippin to reach the top 100.

Eala defeated the Keys and Swiatek in his race at the Miami Open semi-finals and pushed Swiatek again in a three-set defeat in Madrid.

If Swiatek, nicknamed the “queen of clay”, fails to rediscover her superior form, there will be a new name on the trophy for the first time since the victory of Barbora Krejcikova in 2021.

(This story has not been published by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a unionized flow.)