Swiatek turns tide against Rybakina

The Pole recorded her 25th consecutive Roland-Garros victory, tying Monica Seles for second on the all-time list for consecutive wins at the tournament. 

Twenty-four-year-old Swiatek, now three victories from becoming the first woman in the Open era to record four consecutive titles in Paris, will face Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals.

Story of the match

Swiatek, the imperious champion who has delivered 14 bagel sets at Roland-Garros, was about to suffer one of her own on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday. 

She managed to avoid it, finally getting on the scoreboard in the sixth game of the match, but she could not avoid dropping the set to the No.12 seed, who tilted the court in her favour with a dizzying array of power off both wings. 

Rybakina, the only player who has recorded multiple victories over the Pole on clay, didn’t allow the four-time champion any room to breathe in the early moments. 

“First set, I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner,” Swiatek said after the match. 

At the conclusion of the 35-minute opening set. Swiatek headed off court hoping for a reset. She popped out of the tunnel and jogged to her chair as the crowd applauded, hoping to spur her on in the place she has dominated like no other over the last five years. 

She would eventually find her highest level, but not just yet. 

Rybakina claimed the first eight points of the second set, and as Swiatek’s third of seven double-faults of the afternoon gave the 12th seed a 2-0 lead, more worry set in. 

The first glimmer of hope for Swiatek finally arrived when Rybakina muffed an easy volley to hand Swiatek a break-back for 2-2 in set two. Opportunity wasted, and the Kazakhstani paused at the net in disbelief for a moment as if she knew it might come back to haunt her.  

The ensuing game felt crucial for Swiatek and she nearly matched her rivals’ generosity. No doubt cognisant of Rybakina’s lethal second-serve returns, the Pole double-faulted three times from game point up, but eventually took care of business, securing the hold to move ahead 3-2 in the second set.

The inspired tennis began to flow from that moment. 

A break at love followed, Swiatek curling a forehand passing winner down the line for 4-2.

The Pole locked up the second set with a comfortable hold and the contest hung in the balance as the grounds crew swept and watered the court between sets. What started as a choppy affair was now a full-fledged battle royale – who would blink first? 

Six games passed, neither player yielding as the tennis hit another level. Swiatek fought off a trio of break points to hold for three-all, then arrived at a fork in the road two games later. When what would have been a Rybakina double-fault and a break for 5-4 in favour of Swiatek was correctly overruled by chair umpire Kader Nouni, Rybakina was granted a first serve and went on to rally from 15-40 down. 

Would that blip be the banana peel that Swiatek would slip on? 

In a match that saw momentum swing back-and-forth like a pendulum, Swiatek calmly waited for her next chance, and took it decisively when it came. 

With her back against the wall, the Pole kept her nerve and fired through the last three games, winning 12 of the final 15 points as she wrote the last sentence of another brilliant chapter in a Roland-Garros page-turner that never ceases to amaze. 

Last year she saved a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round, then went on to become the first woman to complete a Roland-Garros three-peat since Justine Henin in 2007.

Svitolina, the one with more clay-court wins than any other woman in 2025, is waiting. It’s time to turn the page…

Key stats

Only Chris Evert (29, 1974-1981) has won more consecutive women’s singles main draw matches at Roland-Garros than Swiatek in the Open era. The Pole is the fifth player in the Open era to win 25 or more consecutive singles matches in Paris after Rafael Nadal (39), Chris Evert (29), Bjorn Borg (28) and Monica Seles (25). 

Swiatek saved 10 break points on Sunday, equalling her highest tally in a singles Grand Slam match (US Open 2020 against Victoria Azarenka). She saved four of five in the thrilling third set. 

Rybakina had her seven-match winning streak snapped and drops to a 4-5 lifetime record against Swiatek.

Swiatek's assessment

On the importance of winning in dramatic fashion: "It means a lot. I think I needed that kind of win to feel these feelings. That I'm able to win under pressure, and even if it's not going the right way, still turn the match around to win it.

For sure it's a great confirmation for me... Against great players, it's not always going to be possible. I'm happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved on court."

On loosening up as the match went on: “Elena really pushed me so I needed to do something to get back into the game. Honestly with her playing like that I didn’t have a lot of hope, but I just kept fighting and I’m happy I did that, because every game I felt like I could loosen up even more and at the end I was able to play my game.” 

On playing with more topspin in the second and third set: “That was the plan from the beginning but I didn’t feel like she gave me any space to do that, she was playing so close to the lines. It was a really great level. It’s always the plan, so I’m happy that when I had the opportunity to start doing that I was patient enough to stay in the game, stay focused, and use any opportunity that came to me.” 

On the third set’s incredibly high level: “It was not easy, but I think we both played pretty amazing tennis. Playing against Elena is always tough, so it really gives me a lot that I won this match and that I am through.”