No Ostapenko, Swiatek Challenged by Rybakina at French Open

PARIS, FRIDAY – Iga Swiatek felt a slight relief as she advanced to the fourth round of the 2025 French Open tennis tournament, avoiding competition with Jelena Ostapenko. However, she must prepare to accelerate again as Elena Rybakina, her competitor in the fourth round, is no less challenging than Ostapenko.

"I have no choice. Whoever the opponent is, it doesn't matter," said Swiatek. After pausing for a moment and smiling, she added, "Oh God, can I be a good liar?"

The Polish female tennis player made this statement when reporters asked her who she preferred to face in the fourth round. Swiatek received this question during a press conference after defeating Jaqueline Christian with a score of 6-2, 7-5 in the third round of the French Open at Suzanne Lenglen Court, Roland Garros, Paris, France, on Friday (30/5/2025).

While she was answering questions from journalists, on the same court after her performance, two other tennis players faced off to become Swiatek's opponent in the fourth round. They are Rybakina and Ostapenko.

Although it seemed vague, reporters attending the conference understood the meaning of Swiatek's answer. She would be more than happy to meet Rybakina.

Understandably, Swiatek has always lost in all six encounters with Ostapenko on all types of surfaces. The most recent defeat occurred on the clay court, which Swiatek is most dominant on, during the quarterfinals of the WTA Stuttgart in April, one of the warm-up tournaments for the French Open.

Swiatek's desire has finally come true as Ostapenko lost to Rybakina 2-6, 2-6. For only the third time in seven participations since her debut in 2019, Rybakina will appear in the second week of the French Open.

However, securing a quarter-final ticket by defeating Rybakina in the match scheduled for Sunday is not an easier task for Swiatek compared to facing Ostapenko. Rybakina arrived at Roland Garros with a championship title from the WTA Strasbourg clay court tournament. This achievement marked her first title in a span of 13 months after winning the WTA Stuttgart 2024.

Iga plays very comfortably here. His spin and movement are very good. It will be very difficult to play against him. - Elena Rybakina -

During that period, Rybakina experienced a difficult time that affected her performance. Her position in the world rankings dropped from third to eleventh. She fell ill multiple times and faced other issues related to her coach, Stefano Vukov.

Vukov received a penalty from the WTA for verbally assaulting Rybakina, although the tennis player denied this. For a year, Vukov was unable to obtain accreditation to accompany athletes in WTA and Grand Slam tournaments. Nevertheless, Rybakina stated that she and Vukov continued to train together, that is, between tournaments.

In addition to the championship title from WTA Strasbourg, Rybakina could pose a challenge to Swiatek if we reflect on their competitive journey. In the 2023 competition season, Rybakina, Swiatek, and Aryna Sabalenka emerged as the top three women's singles players due to their titles from high-level tournaments, namely WTA 1000 and Grand Slam.

Rybakina has even become a more challenging competitor for Swiatek compared to Sabalenka. In 2023, Swiatek did not win in three encounters with Rybakina.

Their rivalry has taken place eight times with a tied score of 4-4. Swiatek won the last two encounters, but she lost in the clay court match, specifically in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Rome 2023 and the semifinals of the WTA 500 in Stuttgart 2024.

Another note, Swiatek has had a poor journey leading up to the French Open this year. She has lost nine times out of 36 matches (75 percent win rate). This statistic has declined compared to 39 wins out of 43 matches (90.6 percent win rate) from the beginning of the year until before the 2024 French Open.

From the eight tournaments she has participated in during 2025, Swiatek has failed to defend four championship titles. She has not even reached the final since winning the French Open in 2024.

The championship title in 2024 marks the fourth for Swiatek at the French Open, following her victories in 2020, 2022, and 2023. If she wins again, Swiatek will become the first women's singles player to claim the title at Roland Garros four consecutive times since Suzanne Lenglen from 1920 to 1923.

On that basis, Rybakina still considers Swiatek a tough competitor at Roland Garros even though many consider her not a favorite to win in 2025. "Iga plays very comfortably here. Her spin and movement are very good. The match against her will be very difficult. I will focus on myself," said Rybakina on the official WTA website.

Former Australian tennis player, Sam Stosur, believes that Swiatek will face a tough challenge from Rybakina. Stosur stated that the conditions at Roland Garros are similar to those used at the WTA Strasbourg, a tournament won by Rybakina.

In addition to Swiatek facing Rybakina, the fourth round is marked by other matches that are expected to be closely contested as they involve fellow seeded players. The fourth round, which will also take place on Sunday, features a matchup between Jasmine Paolini and Elina Svitolina. Paolini, who is the fourth seed, is the finalist of the 2024 French Open, while Svitolina (13) is a four-time quarterfinalist at the French Open.

Sabalenka, as the top seed, will face Amanda Anisimova (16), while Zheng Qin Wen (8) will compete against Liudmila Samsonova (19). Zheng halted the progress of 18-year-old qualifier Victoria Mboko in the third round with a victory of 6-3, 6-4.

In the men's singles competition, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (2) will face Ben Shelton (13). Out of the three rounds won, Alcaraz played four sets in the last two rounds. He will need to elevate his level of play against Shelton.

In the third round match that took place on Saturday, Mirra Andreeva performed more solidly compared to the previous two rounds. The 18-year-old sixth seed won against Yulia Putintseva with a score of 6-3, 6-1. With this victory, Andreeva became the youngest female singles player to reach the second week of a Grand Slam five times since Nicole Vaidisova advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open in 2007 at the age of 17.

Andreeva defeated Putintseva by winning nine out of the last ten games. "Yulia's shots made me uncomfortable. She can change the rhythm of the game quickly. I know that because I have practiced with her before. I always try my best to return every shot," said Andreeva.

In the fourth round, the 2024 French Open semifinalist will face Daria Kasatkina (17), who halted the progress of the tenth seed, Paula Badosa. Kasatkina won 6-1, 7-5.

The top seed in the men's singles, Jannik Sinner, maintained his championship path by advancing to the fourth round. He defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in the third round and will face Andrey Rublev in the next challenge. (afp/ap)