Iga Swiatek injury ‘a worry’ with Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka ready to pounce at French Open – Mats Wilander
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Updated 27/05/2023 at 07:24 GMT
Iga Swiatek heads into the French Open as the favourite to retain her crown and win a fourth Grand Slam overall, but in what is emerging as the Big Three in women’s tennis, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are primed to challenge at Roland-Garros, particularly if the Pole is still feeling the effects of her Rome withdrawal. Here, Mats Wilander previews the upcoming women’s singles in Paris.
Swiatek says thigh injury ‘shouldn’t be anything serious’ ahead of French Open
Eurosport expert Mats Wilander believes fitness will be a key factor behind Iga Swiatek’s attempted French Open defence and could pave the way for “dangerous” duo Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka to win the singles title at Roland-Garros.
Swiatek revealed last week she would take a couple of days off before preparing for the French Open, having been forced to retire in Rome due to injury.
The world No. 1 was tied with Rybakina at one-set all when withdrawing from their quarter-final, and amid those injury concerns Wilander believes it could play a role at the upcoming second Grand Slam of the year - where Swiatek starts against Cristina Bucsa in the first round.
“With Iga the one thing you have to be slightly worried about is the physical part of tennis. She's been injured a few times now, and I think that's the worry,” said Wilander ahead of the French Open, which starts on Monday.
“Mentally there isn’t any problem at all. She won in Stuttgart. She knows how to win, and beat some great players there. Of course, she lost again to Rybakina in Rome, but again we don't know where she’s at physically.
“But I still think she’s the big favourite. She's the best clay player in the world. I don't think the conditions are going to make a big difference. If the courts are fast, she's great. If the courts are slower, she has a little more time. If she's healthy and she's 100 per cent, it's the same situation.”
Swiatek is a three-time Grand Slam champion having won the French Open and US Open in 2022, adding to her French Open win in 2020, and the 21-year-old has the potential to reach double digits, according to Wilander, and perhaps even a figure closer to 10 at Roland-Garros alone.
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Iga Swiatek of Poland during practice on Court Philippe Chatrier in preparation for the 2023 French Open
Image credit: Getty Images
“She has entered the circle of great players. She's won three Grand Slam tournaments and won 37 matches in a row last year,” added Wilander.
“She’s showing that she wants to win tournaments and has so much hunger to keep improving. Every day is a new day and she's looking at the bigger picture. Along the way, she's going to win Grand Slams, most probably at least one grand Slam every season for the next five or six years if she's healthy.
“So suddenly you have a player that is going to win seven or eight Grand Slams. Now we're talking about the likes of Justine Henin, Venus Williams, and she's going to be in the same level as them and she might go even better.
“She is at the same time her own worst enemy. I think she is playing to improve and she is putting more pressure on herself than anybody else. And that's what Novak Djokovic has done over the years. That's what Serena Williams has done. And that's what the great players do, put pressure on themselves.
“They don't really care what the rest of the world and the pressure they put on them. It's all about them for themselves.
“I don't know if it's five, six, seven or even 10. She is a perfect clay-court player who is always going to be good on clay and she's going to keep improving on the other surfaces... but she has two really strong players behind her in Sabalenka and Rybakina.”
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Reaching world No. 1 'not my priority goal', says Sabalenka
Wimbledon champion Rybakina is yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals at the French Open, but victory at the recent Italian Open makes her a threat to Swiatek’s crown.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, lost in Rome in the opening round to Sofia Kenin, but having lost the Stuttgart Open final to Swiatek before avenging that defeat in the Madrid Open final, the Belarusian remains a contender in what is emerging as the women’s Big Three.
“I don't think necessarily that it's only the two of them, but what both Sabalenka and Rybakina have is a lot of power on both sides and they are the biggest threat for Iga,” Wilander said.
“Now if I have to choose one, I say it's Rybakina. I think that Sabalenka is very dangerous, but I don't think yet that her clay-court tennis has reached its top. I think she can still improve and she can improve during the French Open.
“Maybe she gets to a quarter-finals and then maybe I would look at it completely differently, but for
“Rybakina, she's so calm and because of that she's such a great ball striker and she serves great. I don't feel she's going to get too frustrated or too nervous.
“Sabalenka loves fighting and she's a tiger on the court and that's a great thing. But it can sometimes hinder her. She has though won her first Grand Slam title, so she's proved to the world, ‘Hey, I can do it’, so in a way the pressure is off.”
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