On Thursday (June 5), the Women’s semifinals of the French Open will be played, and one of the matches will be between two Grand Slam winners – Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. They had a contrasting start to the season. While the Belarusian progressed to six finals, winning three titles, Swiatek hasn’t yet reached a championship match since lifting her fourth Roland Garros title by beating Jasmine Paolini last year.
Before reaching the last four, Sabalenka and Swiatek moved past 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist Qinwen Zheng and Elina Svitolina, respectively. Ahead of the semifinals, both the players spoke about their rivalry at their respective press conferences.
I don’t know if she elevates my game. Against every player, we play different ways. So it’s hard to compare. But for sure, our rivalry is pushing both of us. It’s not only about the level of points, it’s everything. How we work and how professional we are.
Iga Swiatek said
Sabalenka trails 4-8 in the head-to-head record but had won their last encounter in the semifinals of the 2024 Cincinnati Open. On clay too, the four-time French Open champion leads in the win-loss record, winning five of the six matches they have played.
Last year, twice they met on the red dirt (in Madrid and Rome) and it was the 24-year-old who clinched the win both times. Despite their intense rivalry, they now share a good camaraderie off the court thanks to a TikTok video they filmed last year.
Yeah, I mean, before it wasn’t any communication, any practice with her, but now we are getting better. We get along better, and we practice more often, and we know each other quite well. We’ve had a lot of great battles in the past. If it’s going to be Iga, I’m super excited, and it’s a high-level matches.
Aryna Sabalenka said at the press conference
Sabalenka will be playing her second semifinal in the clay-court Major, while for Swiatek, it’s her fifth semifinal appearance. Before Paris, the three-time Grand Slam singles champion lifted her third clay-court title of her career, at the Madrid Open by beating Coco Gauff.
Iga Swiatek reveals if she watches her rivals’ matches
Iga Swiatek is chasing his 23rd singles title at the French Open. Before arriving in Paris, the Pole reached every quarterfinal of the tournaments she played this year, except the Italian Open where Danielle Collins ended her run in the third round.
At the Roland Garros, she is on a 26-match winning streak. This made her the fifth player in the Open Era (both women and men) to register 25 or more consecutive wins in singles in the tournament. Before her, Rafael Nadal, Chris Evert, Bjorn Borg, and Monica Seles completed the feat.
Following her win over Elina Svitolina, Swiatek was asked if she watches her rivals’ matches. The World No.5 said she just follows her coach Wim Fissette’s tactics, saying both she and Aryna Sabalenka know how they play already.
Actually, I don’t, because I’m really bad at that. I don’t watch many things, but when I do, I watch it on my laptop because live is a totally different story, so I leave that to Wim.
Iga Swiatek said at the press conference
The winner of the semifinal will play Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, or Lois Boisson in the final. Swiatek holds an 11-4 head-to-head record over the 2023 US Open champion but had lost their last three matches, including in the United Cup final and in the semifinals of the Madrid Open this year.
Andreeva, on the other hand, edges Swiatek 2-1 in the head-to-head record and had knocked her out in the Dubai Open quarterfinals and the Indian Wells semifinal this year. Swiatek hasn’t yet met Boisson.
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