Iga Swiatek’s latest triumph on the red clay of Roland Garros not only pushed her deeper into the draw but also placed her in elite company. With a straight-sets victory over Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian — 6-2, 7-5 — the Polish powerhouse has now matched Chris Evert’s long-standing record for the most main-draw victories by a female player in their first 40 French Open matches.
The clash itself was something of a tennis tale in two acts. In the opening set, Swiatek cruised with clinical precision, wrapping it up in just over 30 minutes. Her service games went unthreatened — no break points offered, none needed saving. However, the rhythm shifted in the second as Cristian turned up the heat, crafting six break-point chances. Swiatek, showing her trademark grit, fended them all off, sealing a victory that demanded both finesse and fortitude.
With this latest win, Swiatek’s tally now stands at 38 victories out of 40 main-draw matches in Paris — equalling Evert’s historic feat. More strikingly, she’s now riding a 24-match winning streak at Roland Garros, cementing her legacy as a modern-day queen of clay.
“I’m just happy that I was super solid in the last game and didn’t give any free points,” Swiatek shared post-match.
“She used her chances and went for it every time I gave her a chance.
It was a great match and I think pretty entertaining. We both played nice; I’m happy I’m through and happy with the performance.”
While this performance signals a resurgence, Swiatek’s season hasn’t been without turbulence. The former world No. 1, who last lifted silverware at the French Open in 2024, has since struggled to rediscover that dominant form. Her showings in the 2025 WTA 1000 circuit have been underwhelming, often falling short of the latter rounds — a stretch that’s raised eyebrows across the tennis world.
Her fourth-round showdown against Elena Rybakina looms large, not just in the context of the tournament but as a broader test of Swiatek’s resolve. The head-to-head stands dead even at 4-4, with both players capable of dictating terms from the baseline — a real clay-court chess match awaits.
The timing of Swiatek’s resurgence is uncanny, especially in light of comments made recently by tennis legend Chris Evert. Speaking candidly, Evert didn’t hold back in assessing the Pole’s form slump.
“I don’t think it’s just the last two weeks. She hasn’t won a tournament in a year. She hasn’t won a tournament since last year’s French Open. So this has been going on for a while,” Evert told TNT Sports.
“Slowly that just builds and builds and builds the more you lose the more you lose confidence in your game. And then the more the other players feel that they’ve got a real shot.
“And I think when I watched Coco beat her, Coco, I think has beaten her the last two times, and I think they were going forehand to forehand the whole time because both of their forehands are weaknesses and Coco’s forehand held up better than Iga’s.
“So to me, the players know a strategy now how to play Iga and they know she’s not invincible anymore because she’s lost some matches. So, it’s a combination of Iga losing confidence because she hasn’t won a tournament in a year.
“How can you be a number one player? You know, because she was number one at some point. You can’t be a number one player and not win a tournament for a year.
“And so it’s that component losing confidence, but it’s also the component of the other players are like, they think that they have a shot now against her on the clay. And before that, they didn’t.
“So it’s those two things that are working in the life of Iga right now. And by the way, I hope she finds her level.
“I was a champion and I know how it feels when you lose that edge against the other players and she’s a nice person, she’s good person, she’s nice person and I hope that level that made her the greatest clay court or maybe one of the greatest clay court players ever.”
Swiatek’s battle, then, is not just with opponents across the net — it’s also against the creeping doubts that can disrupt the inner game of any elite athlete. Evert’s analysis cuts to the core of Swiatek’s challenges: not only must she reclaim her mental edge, but she must also respond tactically as her rivals refine their playbooks to exploit her weaknesses.
As the clay dust continues to rise in Paris, Swiatek stands at a pivotal crossroads. Rybakina represents not just the next hurdle, but a litmus test for whether Swiatek can reignite the form that once made her nearly untouchable on the terre battue. With her legacy on the line and the weight of expectations thick in the French air, all eyes are on Swiatek to see if she can silence the doubters and reignite her reign on clay.