Iga Swiatek ‘always dangerous’ on ‘her favourite court on the planet’ at Roland-Garros as Pole targets fifth French Open title – Amelie Mauresmo
Iga Swiatek will have plenty of questions to answer when she begins her Roland-Garros defence later this month. The 23-year-old has not been her usual impregnable self in recent weeks, but could change that narrative completely with a fifth French Open title in Paris. Much stranger things have happened according to tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, who is not betting against Swiatek this year.
Amelie Mauresmo believes it would be foolish to write off Iga Swiatek ahead of Roland-Garros, despite the Pole’s indifferent form heading into the second Grand Slam of the year.
Swiatek won the French Open for a fourth time last year but has not claimed a title since.
She has also slipped to No. 5 in the world rankings following Jasmine Paolini’s win at the Italian Open.
In a bid to get ahead, Swiatek has already travelled to Paris to begin training before the clay-court major begins on May 25, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
“She came very early this year, and she hasn’t had many wins on the clay this year,” Mauresmo told Eurosport France.
“I’m thinking she wants to really take the atmosphere of this centre court, the court she loves, maybe her favourite court on the planet.
“It’s nice to see her come so early. I think it’s one of the first times that we have this kind of player, a high-profile player, coming so early in the tournament.
“Usually, it happens at the beginning of next week, like Monday of the opening week, Monday, Tuesday, Monday, most of the time.
“But I guess she needs to practise on-site, and that’s what she feels she needs. We’re happy to have her here.”
It has been a sobering start to 2025 for former world No. 1 Swiatek following a 6-1 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Coco Gauff in Madrid, either side of defeats to Jelena Ostapenko and Danielle Collins in Stuttgart and Rome respectively.
Nevertheless, Mauresmo believes that victories in the opening rounds at the French Open can build up some much-needed winning momentum.
“I think that she can still have a chance,” Mauresmo 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.”
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Mauresmo assessed the main challengers to Swiatek, and highlighted the potential threats coming from Aryna Sabalenka, Gauff and Madison Keys.
“Aryna has been unbelievable all season, basically,” she added.
“Coco is starting to put it together, and Madison won in Australia [2025 Australian Open]. I’m still very interested to see if Iga can perform, and how she can turn the tables.
“It’s a very open women’s draw, and it’s a little bit more open this year.”
