By Ros Satar
- Barbora Krejcikova will defend her maiden title
- Top Seeds: Iga Swiatek, Barbora Krejcikova, Paula Badosa, Maria Sakkari
- British Interest: Emma Raducanu, Heather Watson, Harriet Dart
PARIS, FRANCE – Defending champion will make her competitive return at the second Slam of the year, but former champion Iga Swiatek is the undoubted favourite.
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[1] Iga Swiatek
Best Result: Title (2020)
After lifting the trophy in the delayed Roland Garros of 2020, who could have predicted that Swiatek would now be such a dominant force in the women’s game. She has ascended to the World No. 1 position vacated by Ashleigh Barty with ease and could be on course for a second Slam.
Swiatek’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Qualifier
- R2: Alison Riske | H2H: Swiatek leads 2-0
- R3: Liudmila Samsonova [25] | H2H: Swiatek leads 1-0
- R4: Jelena Ostapenko [13] | H2H: Ostapenko leads 3-0
- QF: Karolina Pliskova [8] | H2H: Swiatek leads 1-0
- SF: Paula Badosa [3] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- F: Barbora Krejcikova [2]| H2H: Swiatek leads 2-0
If the seedings run to form, the blip could be Jelena Ostapenko who leads their head-to-head, but they have never met on clay, and in Swiatek’s current form, who would count her out of getting her first win over the Latvian.
[2] Barbora Krejcikova
Best Result: Title (2021)
It was a 12-match unbeaten run that took Krejcikova from the Strasbourg title to the Roland Garros title and her maiden singles Slam, as well as the doubles title. Despite a solid enough start to the year in Australia, an elbow I jury has ruled the Czech out of the rest of the season since Doha.
Krejcikova’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Diane Parry | H2H: First Meting
- R2: Camila Osorio | H2H: First Meeting
- R3: Sorana Cirstea [26] | H2H: Krejcikova leads 2-0 (tour level)
- R4: Victoria Azarenka [15] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- QF: Anett Kontaveit [5] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- SF: Maria Sakkari [4] | H2H: Krejcikova leads 2-0 (tour level)
- F: Iga Swiatek [1] | H2H: Swiatek leads 2-0
After such a long lay-off it is difficult to see Krejcikova mount the same run as she did last year, but could make the start of the second week.
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[3] Paula Badosa
Best Result: Quarter-final (2021)
The rise of Paula Badosa since her winning the late running of Indian Wells in 2021 has seen her maintain a very deserved place at the top of the rankings.
Badosa’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Fiona Ferro [W] | H2H: Badosa leads 1-0
- R2: Kaja Juvan | H2H: First Meeting
- R3: Veronika Kudermetova [29] | H2H: Kudermetova leads 3-2
- R4: Elena Rybakina [16] | H2H: Badosa leads 3-1
- QF: Aryna Sabalenka [7] | H2H: Badosa leads 2-1
- SF: Iga Swiatek [1] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- F: Barbora Krejcikova [2] | Badosa leads 3-0
Badosa suffered her most recent loss to Veronika Kudermetova in a run of two early losses in Madrid and Rome, losing to her in Spain. After reaching the Istanbul final, it has been a bit of a miserable run in for the Spaniard, but if she can pick up some form, she should be able to match or better last year’s quarter-final appearance.
[4] Maria Sakkari
Best Result: Semi-final (2021)
It was a real heartbreaker of a loss for Sakkari last year to the eventual champion Krejcikova, when many thought that this would be her time. The beginning of the year was consistent enough for the Greek but the clay has not been the happiest of hunting grounds, with her best performance being the Rome quarter-final.
Sakkari’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Clara Burel | H2H: First Meeting
- R2: Karolina Muchova | H2H: Muchova leads 1-0 (tour level)
- R3: Amanda Anisimova [27] | H2H: Sakkari leads 2-0
- R4: Belinda Bencic [14] | H2H: Sakkari leads 1-0 (tour level)
- QF: Ons Jabeur [6] | H2H: Sakkari leads 2-1 (tour level)
- SF: Barbora Krejcikova [2] | H2H: Krejcikova leads 2-0 (tour level)
- F: Iga Swiatek [1] | H2H: Sakkari leads 3-2
There are a couple of potential blips for Sakkari to contend with, not least of which to play herself into form to be a contender.
Roland Garros takes place between 22 May – 5 June.
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