Roland Garros 2023: Swiatek with Rybakina and four other Grand Slam winners, Sabalenka with Pegula and Garcia
The draw for the women’s event at Roland Garros was made on Thursday. Iga Swiatek was not given an easy path while Aryna Sabalenka has a smoother ride
Poland’s Iga Swiatek kisses the trophy after winning the women’s singles final match against Coco Gauff of the U.S. (AI/Reuters/Panoramic)
Things are about to get serious at the French Open, which kicks off on Sunday May 28. We already know a little more about what awaits us after the women’s draw was made in The Orangerie, in the presence of France rugby player Antoine Dupont.
At the top of the draw, Iga Swiatek has not avoided her current bête noire, Elena Rybakina, whom she could meet again in the semi-finals in Paris. The Pole has lost three consecutive matches to the Kazakh on the WTA Tour. Four other Grand Slam winners could stand in her way: Victoria Azarenka, Bianca Andreescu, Barbora Krejcikova and Petra Kvitova. Coco Gauff, the runner-up in 2022, is also in her section.
In the bottom half, the No 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka, on paper, has an easier draw than the world No 1. The Belarusian could meet Caroline Garcia in the quarters and Jessica Pegula in the semis.
The women’s singles draw
The first-round matches we can’t wait to see
- Victoria Azarenka (18) – Bianca Andreescu
- Diane Parry (WC) – Anhelina Kalinina (25)
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova – Linda Fruhvirtova
- Alizé Cornet – Camila Giorgi
- Karolina Pliskova (16) – Sloane Stephens
- Jessica Pegula (3) – Danielle Collins
- Maria Sakkari (8) – Karolina Muchova
Matches we’d like to see in the first week
- 3rd round: Victoria Azarenka (18) – Barbora Krejcikova (13)
- 3rd round: Anhelina Kalinina (25) – Coco Gauff (6)
- 3rd round: Petra Kvitova (10) – Donna Vekic (22)
- 2nd round: Alizé Cornet – Jessica Pegula (3)
Potential quarter-final match-ups
- Iga Swiatek (1) – Coco Gauff (6)
- Elena Rybakina (4) – Ons Jabeur (7)
- Maria Sakkari (8) – Jessica Pegula (3)
- Caroline Garcia (5) – Aryna Sabalenka (2)
Iga Swiatek’s projected path to the title
- 1st round: Cristina Bucsa
- 2nd round: Claire Liu or qualifier
- 3rd round: Maria Bouzkova (31) or Xinyu Wang
- 4th round: Victoria Azarenka (18) or Barbora Krejcikova (13)
- Quarter-finals: Coco Gauff (6) or Veronika Kudermetova (11)
- Semi-finals: Elena Rybakina (4) or Ons Jabeur (7)
- Final: Aryna Sabalenka (2), Jessica Pegula (3) or Caroline Garcia (4)
Aryna Sabalenka’s projected path to the title
- 1st round: Marta Kostyuk
- 2nd round: Panna Udvardy or qualifier
- 3rd round: Shuai Zhang (29) or Magdalena Frech
- 4th round: Karolina Pliskova (16) or Qinwen Zheng (19)
- Quarter-finals: Caroline Garcia (5) or Daria Kasatkina (9)
- Semi-finals: Jessica Pegula (3) or Maria Sakkari (8)
- Final: Iga Swiatek (1), Elena Rybakina (4) or Ons Jabeur (7)
