Sabalenka heads to Roland Garros under pressure after clay-court setbacks

PARIS: Aryna Sabalenka will begin her latest bid for a first French Open title with questions hanging over her recent form after a strong start to the season gave way to setbacks on clay ahead of Roland Garros.

The world number one remains more than 1,000 ranking points clear of her nearest challengers, but her immediate target in Paris will be to improve on last year's runner-up finish, when she was beaten in three sets by Coco Gauff in the final.

Sabalenka's position at the top of the women's game had looked especially commanding earlier this year. She completed the Sunshine Double by winning the WTA 1000 events at Indian Wells and Miami in March, and had won three of the four tournaments she had played in the season up to that point. Her only defeat in that stretch came against Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final, a three-set loss.

She then arrived in Madrid on a 15-match winning run, appearing well placed to challenge for a fourth career title at the Caja Magica as part of her preparations for the clay-court major in Paris. However, her momentum was checked by a quarter-final defeat to 30th seed Hailey Baptiste in Spain. That was followed by another early exit in Rome, where Sorana Cirstea beat her in the third round of the Italian Open.

After that loss, Sabalenka said physical issues had affected her level.

my body was limiting me from performing on the highest level

Reflecting on the defeat, she also said:

I guess we never lose; we only learn, so it's OK

The loss marked the first time since February 2025 that Sabalenka had exited a WTA 1000 event at the round-of-32 stage.

Several contenders in the mix

With Sabalenka no longer appearing as dominant on clay, the women's draw is again shaping up as an open contest. Rybakina is expected to be among the leading challengers after beating Sabalenka in last season's WTA Finals title match and again in Melbourne in January to secure her second major crown. Although she has never gone beyond the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, the Kazakh world number two has been one of the standout performers of the season apart from Sabalenka. She also won the indoor clay title in Stuttgart last month, even though her campaigns in Madrid and Rome ended below expectations.

Iga Swiatek is another major name in the field. The 24-year-old, who won four French Open titles in the early 2020s and was long regarded as the leading player on clay, has recently shown signs of returning to the level that once took her to world number one. Since her most recent Paris triumph two years ago, consistency has been an issue, but she will hope that working with Francisco Roig, the former coach of Rafael Nadal, helps her rediscover her best form on the surface.

Defending champion Gauff also arrives as a serious contender. The world number four put together a strong run in Rome before losing in the final to Elina Svitolina, who comes into Roland Garros in form after winning two titles this year, including her first WTA 1000 trophy in eight years at the Italian Open. Svitolina reached the quarter-finals in Paris for the fifth time in her career last year and said her Rome triumph had strengthened her belief ahead of the French Open.

Svitolina said the title run in Rome had boosted her confidence before Paris.

(Winning Rome) gives me a lot of confidence. Gives me a good look at Roland Garros

She also cautioned that the competition would be intense from the opening round.

But... There are really tough players. You cannot underestimate (them). You need to be ready for the first-round matches, big battles. Everybody's there to beat you.

Along with Svitolina, Madrid Open champion Marta Kostyuk, emerging talents Mirra Andreeva, Iva Jovic and Victoria Mboko, as well as Amanda Anisimova, were identified as possible outsiders for a first Grand Slam title.