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.

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.”

• ‘Hurt’ Swiatek in ‘vicious circle’ that could come to head at French Open – Henin
• ‘A bit of fun’ – Kyrgios set for French Open return after eight years
• ‘I’m not surprised’ – Murray and Djokovic split was expected, says Henin

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.”

Iga Swiatek has dropped to WTA World No. 5 ahead of Roland Garros 2025.

The WTA Rankings have been updated following the Italian Open, and there were major shakeups at the top of the list. No player was more negatively affected than Iga Swiatek.

In the updated rankings released on May 19, Swiatek dropped three spots to World No. 5. The Polish superstar has hemorrhaged valuable rankings points as she has failed to defend her titles throughout clay court season.

Even worse, there will not be a chance for Swiatek to improve her standing before Roland Garros. Swiatek, the winner of the last three French Opens, must defend her title as the fifth seed.

The main draw has not yet been announced, but Swiatek is guaranteed to face a much more challenging path to the final.

After losing to Danielle Collins in the third round of the Italian Open, Swiatek shut down any speculation about Roland Garros.

She has since spent her long break practicing in Paris a full two weeks early. The official Roland Garros social media team has shared sneak peeks at Swiatek’s training at Philippe Chatrier.

Swiatek has not won a title, much less reached a finals match, since she won Roland Garros 2024 last June. Since then, the five-time Grand Slam champion has trudged through the roughest stretch of her career.

Over the past year, Swiatek has dealt with the doping scandal, subsequent ban, and a coaching change that has yet to pay off.

Four of Swiatek’s five Grand Slam titles have come on the clay courts at Roland Garros, so she should always be considered a contender to win the tournament. However, her dark horse status for 2025 was unfathomable this time last year.

Roland Garros runs from May 25 – June 8. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated’s Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

Iga Swiatek surprised tennis fans by practicing at Roland Garros two weeks before the French Open.

Roland Garros shared a sneak peek at Iga Swiatek’s surprisingly early practice session before the French Open.

Iga Swiatek is battling through the worst slump of her professional career. The Queen of Clay no longer looks unstopped on her favorite surface and has not won a title since last year’s French Open.

Danielle Collins upset Swiatek in the third round of the Italian Open (Internazionali BNL d’Italia), giving Swiatek an extra long break before Roland Garros. It perhaps is not the best thing for a player struggling to find her form.

While some fans and media members speculated that Swiatek could add a tournament in the meantime, it is now apparent that she plans to spend her time in Paris gearing up for the second Grand Slam of the season.

On Thursday morning, the official Roland Garros social media channels shared a quick 27-second video of Swiatek training with her team inside an empty Philippe Chatrier. Swiatek arrived a full two weeks ahead of her first match at Roland Garros.

Four of Swiatek’s five Grand Slam titles have come at Roland Garros, including last year’s dominant victory over Jasmine Paolini. She is comfortable in the stadium and looks to regain her form before defending her title.

However, Swiatek has not won a tournament at any level since last year’s French Open. Even worse, she has not even made the finals of an event since last June.

There are plenty of reasons that can be attributed to Swiatek’s title drought. She has cited anxiety and a loss of confidence after dealing with her doping scandal, a coaching change, and family issues off the court.

Swiatek is currently the WTA World No. 2 with a record of 27-9 with zero titles. However, she will slide in the WTA Rankings after the conclusion of the Italian Open. She could be a fourth seed in the 2025 French Open.

The 2025 French Open runs from May 25 – June 8. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated’s Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

Tennis legend Chris Evert has voiced her concerns over Iga Swiatek’s form as she named her four favourites to win the women’s singles title at the 2025 French Open.

Swiatek has been the dominant WTA player on clay this decade, having claimed the Roland Garros crown in four of the last five years and at each of the previous three editions.

However, Swiatek has not reached a final at any tournament since her victory at the 2024 French Open.

The world No 2 was badly out of sorts in a shock 6-1, 7-5 defeat to Danielle Collins in the third round of the Italian Open — where she was the reigning champion.

Swiatek’s latest alarming defeat came after she was dismantled 6-1, 6-1 by Coco Gauff in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.

The Polish star’s clay campaign began at the WTA 500 in Stuttgart, where she was upset by Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals — her sixth loss in as many meetings with the Latvian.

Evert, who won a record seven French Open women’s titles, revealed she cannot choose between the leading contenders for the Paris Grand Slam.

“I don’t know how you can pick anybody between [Aryna] Sabalenka, Iga and Coco, and with Madison Keys really to me would be my fourth pick,” the 18-time major winner told Forbes.

Iga Swiatek News

Iga Swiatek makes concerning admissions as she bluntly reacts to Italian Open shock

Iga Swiatek set for shocking rankings collapse after latest nightmare defeat

“I just don’t know how Iga is going to react. That, to me, is the unknown.

“We know what she is capable of, and with her past records, she’s brilliant at the French Open, but I just don’t know if she can find her A game, because she’s going to need it. It’s kind of like we’re seeing her C game right now.”

Evert has previously revealed she expects Swiatek to break her Roland Garros title record.

“I’m worried about it every day. When I put my head under the pillow I’m worried about Iga,” the American said.

“I think Iga will end up on double digits. I don’t just think she will beat my record here. I think it’s double digits.”

The only active WTA players to win the Roland Garros title are Swiatek, Ostapenko and Barbora Krejcikova.

Gauff was a French Open runner-up in 2022, Aryna Sabalenka’s best result is reaching the semi-finals in 2023.

Australian Open champion Madison Keys was a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 2018.

Iga Swiatek avenged a heartbreaking Australian Open defeat in dramatic fashion at the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday, the defending champion rallying from a first-set bagel to defeat Madison Keys, 0-6, 6-3, 6-2.

“It was one of the weirdest matches I’ve ever played,” Swiatek said on court after the match. “Madi was just playing perfectly at the beginning and I wasn’t really proactive with anything. But I didn’t feel like it was that bad; I felt the ball well. It just went super long most of the time. I just tried to play a bit shorter, put it in. I think I let Madi do a little bit more mistakes by putting the ball back.”

The No. 2 seed has gone the distance in three of her four matches this week but saved her biggest comeback for the fifth-seeded Keys, edging into the semifinals after one hour and 46 minutes on Manolo Santana Stadium.

“The momentum changed but I’m not sure why!” said Swiatek. “I just stayed in there and obviously it wasn’t easy to lose the first set 6-0, but I just tried and at the end I’m happy I did.”

Keys’ Australian Open run saw her beat both Swiatek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who was aiming to win a third straight title Down Under, but the American suffered a dip in form following a semifinal loss at the BNP Paribas Open. Winning just one match at each of her next two appearances in Miami and Charleston, Keys was looking for a reset ahead of the second major tournament of the seasons, and appeared to have found it at the Caja Magica.

Rolling into the last eight without dropping a set, she found herself across the net from Swiatek, who has enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular season. The former world No. 1 has reached at least the quarterfinals in all of her 2025 tournament appearances but has not reached a final since last June, when she won her fourth Roland Garros title.

Looking to lock back into dominant form on her favorite surface, the 23-year-old Swiatek suffered a sixth straight defeat to Jelena Ostapenko at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart and has been made to battle through multiple three-settes through her Madrid title defense. She rallied from a set and a break down against Alexandra Eala, who had shocked Swiatek last month in Miami, and needed a third set to solve Diana Shnaider in the fourth round.

That discomfort was magnified in the face of Keys’ heavy groundstrokes, allowing the American to roar through the opening set without losing a game.

“At least it’s fast!” Swiatek joked of the first-set bagel. “That’s the only positive thing, but for sure, staying on the court and having 0-6 is just weird.”

Though she continued to press Swiatek early in the second set, Swiatek quickly found her rhythm and took a 5-1 lead of her own before ultimately serving out the set two games later.

A tense deciding set unfolded as the pair traded service holds through the first four games. Keys saved two break points in the fifth but Swiatek outrallied the American to earn a third and a netted forehand from Keys gave Swiatek the first break. As Swiatek consolidated her lead Keys sought to amp up her aggression but struggled with consistency, striking two winners but four errors to put Swiatek a game from the finish line.

Keys kept things close as Swiatek served for the match, powering a forehand winner to save match point, but narrowly missed a backhand long. Swiatek, who played remarkably clean tennis in the final two sets, made no mistake on her second opportunity and edged over the finish line in just under two hours.

Having avenged her loss to Keys, Swiatek is guaranteed another opportunity for revenge as she awaits the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 4 seed Coco Gauff and No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva. Both women won their last two matches against the Pole, Gauff at the 2024 WTA Finals and 2025 United Cup and Andreeva at this year’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and BNP Paribas Open.

Paranoia has spread amongst tennis players after both Swiatek and Jannik Sinner failed drug tests without committing any intentional doping.

Iga Swiatek admits the strict doping protocols can be stressful for players but feels like she has “been through the worst” after surviving her positive test over contaminated melatonin.

Paranoia has spread amongst tennis players after both Swiatek and Jannik Sinner failed drug tests without committing any intentional doping.

Swiatek served a one-month suspension at the end of last year after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted that the over-the-counter melatonin she had taken as a sleep aid was contaminated with the banned substance trimetazidine.

Sinner is currently serving a three-month ban after testing positive twice for the banned substance clostebol, which entered his system via his physiotherapist, who was treating a cut on his hand with an over-the-counter spray that contains the substance.