Swiatek’s clay empire on shaky ground ahead of Paris

Paris — Iga Swiatek arrives at Roland Garros under a cloud after  enduring one of the toughest stretches of her career in the lead-up to her defence of the French Open title.

The 23-year-old Pole, who has won four titles on the clay courts of Paris, has slipped out of the world’s top three for the first time since March 2022 after back-to-back defeats in Madrid and Rome.

A 6-1 6-1 humbling by Coco Gauff in Spain and a straight-sets defeat by Danielle Collins in Italy have exposed uncharacteristic frailties in the game of a player previously seen as virtually untouchable on clay after she clinched her third straight Suzanne Lenglen Cup in 2024.

Adding to the weight on Swiatek’s shoulders is the lingering shadow of Aryna Sabalenka, who seized the world No 1 ranking from her late last season.

While Swiatek has largely remained within touching distance, the rivalry has unsettled her dominance, and she has struggled to recapture the ruthless consistency that defined her meteoric rise.

"I think I wasn’t really present on court, not there to fight or compete," Swiatek said after her loss to Collins in Rome. "I focused on my mistakes — that was my error. I wasn’t doing things properly. I was concentrating on the wrong things."

It marks a stark contrast to this point last season, when Swiatek swept the Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros titles in dominant fashion.

Now, the question is whether Swiatek, who served a one-month doping ban last August, can rediscover the mental steel and aggressive precision that made her a four-times French Open champion.

Asked in Rome about her ambitions for the Paris Grand Slam, she struck an uncertain note.

"It would be stupid to expect too much because right now, I’m not able to play my game," she said.

Her remarkable track record on Court Philippe-Chatrier might suggest she is still the player to beat in Paris, but Swiatek herself was quick to dismiss the weight of history.

"It doesn’t matter what I achieved there before — every year is different," she said.

Swiatek admitted to shedding tears in the locker room after the disappointment in Italy, but said she sought to use the setback as an opportunity for reflection.

"I need to find myself again and change some things,” she said. "I listened to some advice from my team, and we’ve reached certain conclusions. I’ll just try to shift my mindset over the next couple of weeks."

With uncertainty surrounding the form of several leading contenders and the emergence of in-form Americans Gauff and Collins, the women’s draw in Paris is wide open.

For Swiatek, regaining confidence on her favourite surface could be the difference between an early exit and a fifth Roland Garros trophy.

The tournament starts on Sunday and runs to June 8.

Reuters