Number One and Defending Champion Bets

The world number one tennis player faces the defending champion. This becomes the "theme" of the meeting between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in the women's singles semifinal of the French Open at Roland Garros, Paris, France, Thursday (5/6/2025). The match between these two players, who have established a rivalry at the top level, will be more intriguing compared to the other semifinal featuring Cori "Coco" Gauff and Lois Boisson.

Boisson is ranked 361st in the world. She was given a wildcard by the French Tennis Federation as a host player. Boisson ruined the chances of a women's singles semifinal when she defeated 2024 French Open semifinalist Mirra Andreeva 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Before meeting Andreeva, who is the sixth seed, Boisson eliminated third seed Jessica Pegula in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, in the competition among fellow American tennis players, Coco defeated the Australian Open champion, Madison Keys. She triumphed over the senior player with a score of 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1.

The match between Sabalenka and Swiatek can actually be referred to as an early final, especially when compared to other semifinals. After competing for the first time in the group stage of the 2021 WTA Finals tournament, their rivalry has intensified since 2022. Out of 12 encounters, ten took place in the semifinals or finals of tournaments at the WTA 500, 1000, WTA Finals, and Grand Slam levels.

Swiatek has won in eight encounters and leads 5-1 on clay courts. However, Sabalenka won the last meeting in the semifinals of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati 2024.

Sabalenka also leads in winning percentage this year before the French Open. She has won 34 out of 40 matches (85 percent). Meanwhile, Swiatek has a winning percentage of only 75 percent (27 wins, nine losses).

Another note for Sabalenka in 2025 is three championship titles from six finals. Meanwhile, Swiatek has not reached a final since winning the French Open in 2024. One of those three titles was secured by Sabalenka at the French Open warm-up tournament, WTA 1000 Madrid, after defeating Coco in the final.

Meanwhile, a positive aspect that Swiatek can bring to stop Sabalenka's goal of reaching the French Open final for the first time is the four championship titles she has won at Roland Garros. The 2020 French Open title was even Swiatek's first title in professional competition. After that, she became the champion for three consecutive years, from 2022 to 2024.

If she wins again, the 23-year-old Polish tennis player will become the first women's singles champion to win the French Open four consecutive times in the Open Era since 1968. Previously, only Suzanne Lenglen had won four consecutive years, from 1920 to 1923. The name of the French player was subsequently used for the women's singles champion trophy of the French Open.

To enter her name in the professional tennis record books, Swiatek must suppress Sabalenka's power. The three-time Grand Slam champion on hard courts (Australian Open 2023, 2024, and US Open 2024) has a powerful weapon of punches, forehand and backhand, from the baseline. Her playing style is not very varied, but Sabalenka can consistently hit the opponent's defense with her hard punches from the first point to the last.

After defeating Zheng Qin Wen in the quarterfinals, Sabalenka confidently said that her groundstrokes were stronger than Serena Williams'. "Actually, in my career at this stage, I don't care about my playing style. But I definitely prefer to play with power. I think Serena's strokes were not as strong as mine when we played. Physically, she is better than me, but her power is not more than mine," said Sabalenka, who met Serena once and lost in the fourth round of the 2021 Australian Open with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 4-6.

Swiatek has the ability to handle the game due to her distinctly different playing style. She can move smoothly by gliding on the clay court while executing a combination of long and short shots. In this way, Swiatek outperformed Sabalenka on the clay court.

"I don't know if our rivalry can be said to improve my game, but it certainly makes us both grow. I like to play against players with a powerful style because I can show something else," Swiatek said on the WTA website.

Swiatek's comfort playing at Roland Garros is also evident from her winning statistics. Before winning five rounds in 2025, the Polish tennis player had only lost twice out of 35 matches during her participation from 2019 to 2024. With her victories in five rounds this year, Swiatek has never lost in 37 matches after winning the first set.

Sabalenka or Swiatek, with different backgrounds, can be considered worthy of being finalists at the French Open, including as champions. However, there is also Coco, who is in the lower half of the draw and equally deserves to be compared with them.

Coco will compete in the French Open semifinals for the third time in the last four years following the semifinals in 2024 and the finals in 2022. Her performance at the French Open is also better compared to other Grand Slam tournaments, as evidenced by an 80 percent win rate.

Only her performance at the US Open (77 percent) comes close to her performance at Roland Garros. On the hard courts of Flushing Meadows, New York, Coco became the champion in 2023, marking her first and only Grand Slam title to date.

During the preparation period for her appearance at Roland Garros, Coco consistently reached the finals in the clay court tournaments, WTA 1000 Madrid and Rome. In Madrid, she was defeated by Sabalenka, while in the title match in Rome, the 21-year-old American tennis player was beaten by Jasmine Paolini, who was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Boisson, whom he will face for the first time, has made the biggest surprise this year. At the Grand Slam level, she has always participated in the French Open since 2021 due to receiving a wildcard. The 22-year-old tennis player is still competing in ITF and WTA 125 level tournaments. One of her titles was won at the WTA 125 in Saint Malo, France, in 2024.

Although he does not have a track record as high as other semifinalists, Boisson is assured of support from the majority of the audience. Moreover, Boisson is the first semifinalist from France since Marion Bartoli at the 2011 French Open.

Nevertheless, Coco remains calm about the atmosphere she will face against the home player. "I played against Paolini in Rome, Caroline (Garcia) and Kristina (Mladenovic) in France. I have some experience facing an audience that will not support me. That is actually what I am looking forward to," said the second-seeded tennis player.

Support from the audience for the opponent should not be an issue for Coco; however, there are other factors that need her attention. Coco experienced a "winning ugly" situation when facing Keys in the quarterfinals. Coco made 41 unforced errors despite ultimately winning. (AFP/AP/Reuters)