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Paris – Iga Swiatek came to the draw ceremony at L’orangerie in Paris to talk about what it means to be back in Paris, the most meaningful venue of her career.
“I’m proud of my achievements here,” Swiatek said at the ceremony. “I’m working hard to be ready. For sure this season had more ups and downs than the years before. But I know my game is there.”
The four-time champion will need her best to get through her difficult draw this year. Seeded fifth, Swiatek was drawn into fourth seed Jasmine Paolini’s quarter, but there are potential pitfalls both before and after the quarters that lie in wait.
Join us for a look at some of the details of Thursday's draw, as we ponder what it could mean for Swiatek's bid to become the first woman to win four consecutive Roland-Garros titles in the Open Era.
A Rough Draw
Swiatek faces Rebecca Sramkova in the opening round, and could face former Grand Slam champion Emma Raducanu in the second and Marta Kostyuk in the third. Those week one matchups might not be too difficult for the best clay-court player in tennis, but a potential fourth-round matchup with Jelena Ostapenko would be a tricky proposition. The Latvian leads Swiatek 6-0 in their head-to-head, and even topped her on the clay at Stuttgart last month.
If Ostapenko doesn’t make it through Elena Rybakina could be the one to face Swiatek in the round of 16, and that wouldn’t be a walk in the Bois de Boulogne either. Rybakina has won half of the pair's eight head-to-head battles.
Swiatek is slated to face Paolini in the quarters and, potentially, Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals – all that simply to get to the final.
Gauff and Andreeva Benefit in Bottom Half
Having Swiatek and Sabalenka in the top half, leaves Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva as two of the favorites to make it through to the finals in the lower half. They are the two highest-ranked players in that section, but No.7 seed Madison Keys is also there, as is Emma Navarro, Daria Kasatkina and Naomi Osaka.
But we have tip either Gauff, who reached back-to-back finals at Madrid and Rome and is a former RG runner-up, or 18-year-old Andreeva, who reached the semifinals last year and seems to get more lethal with each passing Slam.
Top Half Heavy Hitters
Circling back to the top half, which also features Olympic gold medal winner Zheng Qinwen, Clara Tauson, Amanda Anisimova and Danielle Collins, we can see that the heaviest hitters are in this section.
Yes, Sabalenka and Swiatek are cream of the crop, but if they falter, there will be no shortage of talented usurpers ready to rise to the challenge.
Top-seeded Sabalenka could face Anisimova or Tauson in the round of 16, and would face Zheng in the quarterfinals if the seeds hold.
Popcorn Alert!
Naomi Osaka’s first-rounder with Paula Badosa could be epic if the Spaniard is in good health, as is Zheng’s first-rounder with former runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Switzerland’s Belinca Bencic takes on Elena Rybakina in what could be a very tight tilt, while 17-year-old American Iva Jovic takes on Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in her RG debut.