The Queen of Clay’s reign ends – but Swiatek ‘will be back’

French Open 2025

Location: Roland Garros, May 25 – June

Iga Swiatek is not accustomed to losing at the French Open.

The 24-year-old has become known as the “Queen of Clay,” having won four of her previous five Roland Garros titles, but this year’s tournament threatened to end her reign.

Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s number one, revealed Swiatek’s current failings in a blockbuster semi-final on Thursday.

Sabalenka, a Belarusian, broke Swiatek’s 26-match winning streak on the Paris clay by converting eight break points, which ended Swiatek’s serve.

Andrea Petkovic, who analyzed the game for BBC Radio 5 Live, predicted that “Iga will be back and she will be better.”

In the eyes of seasoned observers, Swiatek and Gauff, who defeated French wildcard Lois Boisson in Thursday’s second semi-final, were the only ones who were favorites for the title.

Swiatek has struggled to make it to the top of her game this year, failing to reach a final since winning the French Open last year and falling to her lowest position since March 2022.

Swiatek’s return to Paris provided hope following a humiliating defeat in the third round of the Italian Open.

Shortly after suffering her first French Open defeat since 2021, Swiatek remarked, “I think I already changed my mindset before this tournament.”

“I had a little perspective and time after leaving Rome early.”

As she fought through her first three matches without losing a set, the former world number one appeared more like the former world number one.

Swiatek fought back from losing the opening set 6-1 and answered more of the lingering questions about her form when a tougher test came up against Elena Rybakina in the final 16.

In the opening set against Sabalenka, she recovered from a 4-1 deficit to put the game back on the serve.

Swiatek fought back from a bad start, where she was overpowered by Sabalenka’s power, and won the match in a decider by altering her return position.

The fifth seed rolled over in the 22-minute third set because she was unable to sustain her level, or perhaps because of her belief.

Swiatek, however, felt that the past fortnight had some positive aspects for her.

Swiatek, who has won 32 of her 42 matches this season, said, “I played some good matches.

“Also, this is probably not the best time to examine the world from a different angle.”

Swiatek’s level has dropped because of a variety of factors both on and off the court.

Swiatek claimed she cried for “six hours” after losing in the semi-finals of the Olympics in Paris last summer.

However, a bigger shock hit hit: Swiatek had failed a doping test.

She had a positive test result for trimetazidine (TMZ) in an out-of-competition sample in November, it was revealed. After the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) determined that the result was caused by contamination, she was then given a one-month ban.

At the end of last year, Swiatek opted to switch coaches, replacing Tomas Wiktorowski with Wim Fissette, and it is taking some time to adjust to the changes she is implementing.

Her most potent tool on the clay, the destructive forehand, has lost some of its dependability, and her service style has been stifled by fierce opponents.

You sometimes see her missing balls because she may have lost some self-assurance, Sabalenka said.

“But overall, I believe it was a really high-level match and she did great tennis,” she continued.

It’s difficult to see Swiatek facing her on the Wimbledon grass next month because Sabalenka’s victory put her at odds with herself as the runaway leader of the WTA Tour.

Swiatek has never advanced past the SW19 quarter-finals, but Sabalenka’s potent game quickly moves onto the faster surface.

I’m curious to see where Iga goes from here because we all know she doesn’t like that surface, Petkovic said.