Amelie Mauresmo highlights what will be 'key' for Iga Swiatek while defending French Open title this year

Former world number one Amelie Mauresmo believes that Poland’s Iga Swiatek will have a realistic chance of going all the way and lifting the French Open this year. The 23-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category, is going through a lean patch according to her own high standards.

Swiatek has been featured in eight competitions this year, but she has not been able to cement a spot in the final in any of them. Her most recent outing was at the Rome Open, where she was knocked out after losing in the second round to America’s Danielle Collins in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 7-5.

Former world number one Mauresmo recently spoke to TNTSports, where she backed the Polish tennis star to produce the goods in the competition. The 45-year-old was of the opinion that Swiatek's most important thing will be how she begins her campaign in Paris.

"I think that she can still have a chance,” she said. “I think the beginning of the tournament will be key, definitely, to have this confidence going again. You need these first few matches, one, two, three, to get the rhythm going, get the confidence a little bit higher, getting it up a little bit. But Iga on this court is always dangerous. She's always going to be a problem to any player she's going to face. Now, the fact that she's coming here with confidence being pretty low is probably something new for her. It's also going to be interesting to see how she reacts to this mentally.”

Swiatek has an outstanding record while playing at the Roland Garros. The Warsaw-born star has won the competition four times. She has not lost a match in the competition since 2021, when Greece’s Maria Sakkari defeated her in the quarterfinal in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. In 2024, Swiatek lifted the title after beating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-1.