French Open 2025: Sabalenka’s Clay Form Under Scrutiny Ahead of Paris

Sabalenka hunts first French Open Crown amid Open Women’s draw

The four-time Grand Slam champion leads the field in Paris but enters with questions over form. Swiatek, Gauff, Rybakina and rising stars could challenge for the title.

After early exits in Madrid and Rome, Sabalenka heads to the French Open seeking a maiden title. Rybakina, Swiatek and defending champion Gauff loom as key rivals...

Aryna Sabalenka started the clay-court season looking unstoppable last month. Now the world number one has arrived in Paris for another attempt at the French Open, and her grip on the women’s game has started to slip.

The four-time Grand Slam winner still leads her closest rivals by more than 1,000 ranking points. But over the next two weeks her main focus will be improving on last year’s runner-up finish in Paris, where she lost to Coco Gauff in three sets.

  

If Sabalenka’s goals for the tournament match those of Jannik Sinner, her men’s counterpart who is also chasing a first French Open title on clay, then her dominance suddenly looks less secure than his. The tournament starts on Sunday.

Sabalenka won the Sunshine Double in March, taking the WTA 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Before that, she had won three of the four tournaments she played this season. The only loss came against Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final, where she fell in three sets.

Sabalenka arrived in Madrid for the start of the European clay swing on a 15-match winning streak. With that form behind her, it seemed little could stop her from winning a fourth career title at the Caja Magica as she began preparations for the French Open.

A quarter-final loss to 30th seed Hailey Baptiste ended her run in Spain. She then suffered another early exit at the Italian Open, falling to a resurgent Sorana Cirstea in the third round. After the match she said her body was limiting her from performing at the highest level.

After losing at the round-of-32 stage of a WTA 1000 event for the first time since February 2025, Sabalenka said, “I guess we never lose; we only learn, so it's OK.”

With the 28-year-old top seed now looking less secure on clay, the draw for the French Open looks wide open again.

World number 1 is here! 🙌🆙#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/8bHKzIPiKR

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 18, 2026

Contenders on the Rise

Elena Rybakina beat Sabalenka in last season’s WTA Finals final and again in Melbourne in January to claim her second Grand Slam title. She will be one of the main threats at Roland Garros despite never going past the quarter-finals in Paris.

Strong Season, Mixed Clay Results

The Kazakh world number two has arguably had the best season on tour outside of Sabalenka. She won the indoor clay title in Stuttgart last month, but had disappointing early exits in both Madrid and Rome.

Swiatek Seeks to Reclaim Clay Form

Iga Swiatek, once known as the queen of clay, has shown flashes of the form that made her world number one and earned her four French Open titles in the early 2020s. 

New Coaching Partnership

The 24-year-old has struggled for consistency since her last win in Paris two years ago. She will hope that working with Francisco Roig, Rafael Nadal’s former coach, helps her rediscover her best level on the surface she dominated for so long.

Iga's practice appreciation post 😎#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/6RyVrq0ULK

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 18, 2026

Defending champion Coco Gauff will not give up her title without a fight. The world number four arrives in Paris after a strong run in Rome, where she reached the final before losing to Elina Svitolina.

The 31-year-old Ukrainian has already won two titles this year, including her first WTA 1000 crown in eight years at the Italian Open. After reaching the quarter-finals in Paris for the fifth time last year, she will be confident of making another deep run this time.

“(Winning Rome) gives me a lot of confidence. Gives me a good look at Roland Garros,” Svitolina said.

“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, other players who could cause an upset and win their first Grand Slam include Madrid Open champion Marta Kostyuk, rising talents Mirra Andreeva, Iva Jovic, and Victoria Mboko, as well as Amanda Anisimova.

 Can Sabalenka overcome clay struggles to win Roland Garros?