'Time to recover and train again': Iga Swiatek sticks to Roland Garros plan despite Rome shock exit

Iga Swiatek confirmed her plans after her early loss at the Rome Open, as she prepares for her French Open title defense. The Pole suffered another early defeat in this clay-court swing, falling in the third round to Danielle Collins 1-6, 5-7.

After the unexpected early elimination from the Italian Open, the question arose as to whether Swiatek would make adjustments to her schedule to prepare for the French Open. The WTA 500 Strasbourg Open takes place next week, where Jessica Pegula requested a wildcard after her own early exit. Emma Navarro, Paula Badosa, and Daria Kasatkina are among the names scheduled to compete in the tournament, which ends just one day before the start of Roland Garros.

Swiatek surely did not expect to arrive at the upcoming French Open with so few matches on clay. In 2024, Swiatek arrived at Roland Garros with a 14-1 record in the three clay-court tournaments she had played: semifinals at the Stuttgart Open and titles in Madrid and Rome.

However, this time her clay-court record is 6-3, and she only achieved consecutive victories on her way to the semifinals in Madrid, where she was ultimately eliminated decisively by Coco Gauff (1-6, 1-6).

In Rome, she debuted with an impressive win against Elisabetta Cocciaretto (6-1, 6-0), but the problems returned when she fell to Collins in straight sets. The 5-time Grand Slam champion will see a drop in the ranking to at least world No. 4 – and it could be much worse if she fails to defend her title at Roland Garros.

The Polish media outlet Gazeta.pl directly consulted her public relations agent, Daria Sulgostowa, on whether there would be changes to Swiatek's schedule after the early exit in Rome. "The plans have not changed and the next tournament is Paris. Now it's time to recover and train again before the tournament."

Back in 2021, Czech player Krejcikova was eliminated early in Rome and changed her schedule, adding Strasbourg as a stop. She won the title and then maintained a remarkable streak until winning the French Open title, her first Grand Slam. Ukrainian Svitolina is another who took advantage of the Strasbourg date, winning the title in 2023 and then maintaining a streak to the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.