Iga Swiatek enters this year’s Roland Garros with a lot of pressure. The 23-year-old clay-court master now finds herself in a precarious position due to a string of underwhelming results and a shift in the WTA rankings.
At the start of the 2025 clay-court season, Swiatek faced a challenge: defending titles at all three big clay events—Madrid, Rome, and soon, Roland Garros. However, she was unable to defend her trophies in either Madrid or Rome this spring, losing valuable ranking points in the process. Those two tournaments alone had earned her 2,000 points last year, and their loss has now pushed her down from No. 2 to No. 5 in the WTA rankings, with 5,838 points—just outside the all-important top four. This is Swiatek’s first time outside the Top 4 since the week of February 21, 2022.
That fifth-place ranking may seem minor, but it has major implications for the Roland Garros draw. Being seeded in the top two guarantees that a player won’t face the No. 1 seed until the final, which is a major advantage. The top four seeds are strategically placed in the bracket to avoid each other until the semifinals, while a fifth seed risks a much earlier clash with the top players. Now seeded fifth in Paris, Swiatek could face any of the top four players as early as the quarterfinals—a daunting prospect given her current struggles and the mounting pressure she’s under.
The player who replaced Swiatek in the top four? Jasmine Paolini. The Italian is building on her breakthrough 2024 season, during which she reached the finals at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Over the weekend, she captured her first clay title at the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome by defeating Coco Gauff in the final. That victory pushed her into a career-high No. 4 spot in the rankings, just 27 points ahead of Swiatek—a razor-thin margin, but one that could drastically impact the draw at Roland Garros.
For Swiatek, the stakes are now higher than just defending her crown. Should she fail to retain her title in Paris, she could plummet even further in the rankings. That drop would continue to complicate her future tournament paths, increasing the chances of early matches against other top players.
While Paolini celebrated her Rome title in front of her home fans—an emotional and career-defining moment—Swiatek now faces the task of turning her season around. To avoid a ranking freefall and keep her Roland Garros legacy alive, she’ll need to rediscover her top form quickly.
Even with a steeper path ahead and more pressure than in years past, Swiatek remains one of the clear favorites heading into Roland Garros. Unlike previous seasons where she dominated the field, she now enters as a contender determined to reclaim her place at the top. Still, her record in Paris is unmatched—she’s riding a 21-match winning streak at the French Open, having lifted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen three years in a row and four times in the past five years. Moreover, she holds a flawless 5-0 record (10-0 in sets) at Roland Garros against all four women seeded above her this year. (photo: Jimmie48)
