For the second major in a row, Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu will meet in the first week.
No. 5 seed Iga Swiatek had to navigate a slightly trickier test than she is accustomed to in Grand Slam first rounds, coming from 3-1 down in the second set to open her Roland Garros title defense with a 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Rebecca Sramkova. Raducanu followed after overcoming Wang Xinyu 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in a 2-hour, 44-minute thriller on Court 8.
In the third round of the Australian Open in January, Swiatek routed Raducanu 6-0, 6-1 in 1 hour and 10 minutes. The former World No. 1 has yet to drop a set to Raducanu in four meetings. However, their closest meetings have both come on clay, in the Stuttgart quarterfinals in 2022 and 2024. On those occasions, Swiatek came through 6-4, 6-4 and 7-6(2), 6-3 respectively.
"I didn't really think about [the Australian Open] match, honestly," Swiatek said after defeating Sramkova. "I was thinking about our Stuttgart match, and I think we played another time on clay after -- I'm not sure. I'm not good at that. But I don't really take a lot from that except the experience and ... knowing how she plays.
"But Melbourne and Roland Garros [are] totally different surfaces, different stories. I'll prepare tactically as I should before a clay court match, and that's it."
Raducanu, meanwhile, will enter the match with a nothing-to-lose attitude.
"It's a match for me where I can really test and challenge myself," she said. "Especially on clay, it's her preferred tournament, surface. She's won it, like, four times. It's a match where I can just ... go for my shots, because I know if I just push the ball, I'm probably going to get eaten."
Swiatek survives challenge from Sramkova
Sramkova was also a repeat opponent from Melbourne for Swiatek. In the second round of the Australian Open, Swiatek had needed just an hour to win 6-0, 6-2. In the rematch, No. 42-ranked Sramkova brought a higher level to the court, holding her own in high-octane baseline rallies and striking 23 winners, just two fewer than Swiatek's 25.
Blending power with touch on the drop shot and lob, Sramkova made the first half of both sets tightly contested -- but Swiatek asserted her authority when it mattered. At 3-3 in the first set, the former World No. 1 upped her aggression levels to pressure Sramkova with a series of winners, converting her third break point with a sweet backhand down the line. From 3-1 down in the second set, Swiatek took back control with a rapid-fire run through 10 consecutive points, and ultimately five straight games.
The result extended four-time champion Swiatek's winning streak at Roland Garros to 22, and her winning streak in WTA tournament opening matches to 60. Her last losses in both came to Maria Sakkari -- in the 2021 Roland Garros quarterfinals and 2021 WTA Finals Guadalajara round-robin respectively.
In the third round of the Australian Open in January, Swiatek routed Raducanu 6-0, 6-1 in 1 hour and 10 minutes. The former World No. 1 has yet to drop a set to Raducanu in four meetings. However, their closest meetings have both come on clay, in the Stuttgart quarterfinals in 2022 and 2024. On those occasions, Swiatek came through 6-4, 6-4 and 7-6(2), 6-3 respectively.
"I didn't really think about [the Australian Open] match, honestly," Swiatek said after defeating Sramkova. "I was thinking about our Stuttgart match, and I think we played another time on clay after -- I'm not sure. I'm not good at that. But I don't really take a lot from that except the experience and ... knowing how she plays.
"But Melbourne and Roland Garros [are] totally different surfaces, different stories. I'll prepare tactically as I should before a clay court match, and that's it."
Raducanu, meanwhile, will enter the match with a nothing-to-lose attitude.
"It's a match for me where I can really test and challenge myself," she said. "Especially on clay, it's her preferred tournament, surface. She's won it, like, four times. It's a match where I can just ... go for my shots, because I know if I just push the ball, I'm probably going to get eaten."
Swiatek survives challenge from Sramkova
Sramkova was also a repeat opponent from Melbourne for Swiatek. In the second round of the Australian Open, Swiatek had needed just an hour to win 6-0, 6-2. In the rematch, No. 42-ranked Sramkova brought a higher level to the court, holding her own in high-octane baseline rallies and striking 23 winners, just two fewer than Swiatek's 25.
Blending power with touch on the drop shot and lob, Sramkova made the first half of both sets tightly contested -- but Swiatek asserted her authority when it mattered. At 3-3 in the first set, the former World No. 1 upped her aggression levels to pressure Sramkova with a series of winners, converting her third break point with a sweet backhand down the line. From 3-1 down in the second set, Swiatek took back control with a rapid-fire run through 10 consecutive points, and ultimately five straight games.
The result extended four-time champion Swiatek's winning streak at Roland Garros to 22, and her winning streak in WTA tournament opening matches to 60. Her last losses in both came to Maria Sakkari -- in the 2021 Roland Garros quarterfinals and 2021 WTA Finals Guadalajara round-robin respectively.
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