'She’s very aggressive,' Elena Rybakina picks Aryna Sabalenka as a more difficult opponent for her than Iga Swiatek

I would say Aryna [Sabalenka]. We have played many difficult matches, she is very aggressive and has good power. And with Iga [Swiatek] I feel that I have more control in the game because of my power over her, so with Aryna it's more difficult. Elena Rybakina said, as quoted by Punto de Break

Rybakina has played six matches against Swiatek so far, and she has gotten the better of the World No. 1 on four occasions, including their latest matchup in Stuttgart. The World No. 4 came out victorious with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Rybakina will open her Roland Garros campaign against unseeded Belgian Greet Minnen on Monday. She withdrew in the third round last year due to respiratory problems.

Can Aryna Sabalenka turn the tables on Iga Swiatek in Roland Garros?

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka comes into this year’s French Open in good form. She kicked off the season strongly by reaching the finals of Brisbane before winning her second Australian Open crown. The Belarusian beat Qinwen Zheng in the final.

Sabalenka has also reached the finals of Madrid and Rome. However, she lost to Swiatek on both occasions. Although the Madrid final went right down to the wire, the Rome final was completely dominated by the Polish superstar.

If she wants to win her first Grand Slam outside Australia, she would need someone to do her a favor, like Linda Noskova did by knocking out Swiatek in Australia. Otherwise, she is firmly behind the World No. 1 in terms of the favorites.

Sabalenka opens her campaign against unseeded Erika Andreeva on Monday. She is bidding to become the first woman since Serena Williams in 2015 to win the first two Grand Slams of the year.