Sabalenka to face Swiatek in blockbuster semi-final

French Open 2025

Location: Roland Garros, May 25 – June

In a sensational French Open semi-final between two title contenders, world no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek.

On a blustery Court Phillippe Chatrier on Tuesday, Sabalenka defeated China’s Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in a tight quarter-final.

Swiatek from Poland then defeated Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5, to win the final four match.

In October of last year, Sabalenka, a Belarusian, replaced Swiatek, who is currently fifth overall.

The pair have met 12 times, with Swiatek leading 8-4 in a straight-aison encounter. However, since the US Open semi-finals of 2022, they have not met in a major.

Sabalenka is competing for her first Paris trophy, while Swiatek has won four of the previous five Roland Garros titles.

“Aryna has a game for every surface,” Swiatek said, “so I need to focus on myself, do the work, be brave in my shots, and just go for it.”

Sabalenka is the player to beat at the French Open despite Swiatek’s recent dominance.

She has won three titles this year, including one on the Madrid clay, and has now advanced to two finals, extending her lead.

But Madison Keys’ three-set defeat in the Australian Open final was so troubling that she is now attempting to redress it.

Zheng’s optimism was palpable. In May, she broke her six-match losing streak to Sabalenka on the Rome clay and won the match.

However, Sabalenka’s 18 errors were the difference, with Zheng making just 39% of her points after her second serve with 31 unforced errors.

Sabalenka’s game, the wind, and finding herself in the early break in the first set bothered her, but she managed to maintain a 4-4 lead.

The top seed repeatedly rallied from 0-30 down in her service games to keep the second set close in the final tie-break, dominating the outcome with a long-whipped forehand from Zheng.

Before Zheng’s worst game of the match, Sabalenka ran out 4-3 winners, the pair exchanged breaks.

With Zheng serving the match at 40-0, Sabalenka’s quality showed up as she hammered winners past her rival to win the match as quickly as possible.

“That was a real battle,” Sabalenka said, “I have no idea how I was able to regain control of that first set.”

A win over Elena Rybakina in the fourth round, with Swiatek coming back from a set and a break down, would have greatly improved your confidence.

Although the scoreline suggested the first set was closer, Swiatek’s break was inevitably inevitable.

Swiatek, one of the top scorers, broke five games in a row to deflate Svitolina before winning the first of three of her opening contests.

Svitolina, who has added more attacking to her game since returning from maternity leave, opened the scoring with a 3-1 run early in the second set through some strong hitting.

However, in the following game, Swiatek resurrected and capitalized on a sluggish Svitolina service match to regain the break lead before serving the match.