World No. 1 Iga Świątek has a golden opportunity to win her third straight, and fourth overall, French Open title on Saturday as she takes on Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the final.
No woman has won three consecutive titles at Roland Garros since Justine Henin in 2007, but nothing looks like getting in Świątek’s way.
The Polish superstar is currently on an 18 match unbeaten run in all competitions and has not lost at the French Open for three years. Her opponent, meanwhile, is experiencing this stage of a grand slam for the first time.
The pair have played against each other twice before, with Świątek winning both times. The last victory came in the 2022 US Open.
“We played a long time ago, so I need to prepare tactically and see where her game is at now,” Świątek told reporters when asked about the prospect of playing Paolini in the final.
“She has had her best season, so she must have changed something. But we will see, because honestly I haven’t watched her matches. I’ll just focus on myself and prepare tactically.”
While Świątek breezed past Coco Gauff to reach the final on Thursday, her tournament was almost over in the second round.
The four-time grand slam champion faced match point against Naomi Osaka but rallied to avoid what would have been her earliest exit at Roland Garos.
Świątek has since said “something changed” in her game from that point, and has not come close to losing a set since.
Given her fluency and dominance on clay, many have been comparing Świątek’s potential legacy at the competition with that of Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, nicknamed the ‘King of Clay’, has won a record 14 titles at Roland Garros and Świątek is aware she has a long way to go before matching his levels.
“We’ll see in 14 years if the journey is similar. I mean, that’s obviously really nice for me. I would never expect anybody to compare me to Rafa because for me he’s above everybody, and he’s a total legend,” she told reporters.
“We’ll see in a couple of years, but I’m proud of myself that I’m playing consistently here and that I’m mentioned in the same sentence as Rafa. That’s cool.”
Paolini has made history of her own at this year’s competition.
The 12th seed, who made her professional debut back in 2011, is the first Italian woman to reach the final of a grand slam since Roberta Vinci at the 2015 US Open, according to Opta.
The 28-year-old defeated Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-3 6-1 to book a place in her first grand slam final.
In truth, few would have predicted Paolini’s breakthrough at Roland Garros considering she has never previously progressed past the round of 16 at a grand slam.
“I learned a little bit later than other players,” she told reporters, after beating Andreeva.
“To dream is the most important thing in sport and in life. I’m happy that I can be in this dream moment.
“It’s a great feeling to be in a Grand Slam final. It seems something impossible.”
Paolini has now won six consecutive clay matches for the first time in her career and is projected to break into the Top 10 following the conclusion of the tournament.
It would be a huge upset if she was to beat Świątek in the final and Paolini is fully aware of how tall the task is.
“Every week is a new challenge, so it’s not easy to confirm your result every week,” she told reporters, speaking about her opponent’s consistency.
“Just few players can do that. It’s unbelievable what the top players, like Iga [Świątek], Nole [Djokovic], Jannik [Sinner] are doing. It’s something crazy.”
Audiences in the US can watch the French Open women’s final live on NBC and Peacock. It will also be shown live on Discovery+ and Eurosport.
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