Iga Swiatek’s rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka is growing and it will help the women’s tennis that is in a crisis.
Former British #1 Laura Robson while talking to Tennis365 expressed similar thoughts ahead of the French Open.
Tennis has been decorated with historic rivalries that has contributed to the success of women’s tennis with Martina Navratilova’s battles with Chris Evert and Bjorn Borg’s iconic battles with John McEnroe in the 1970s and 80s still remembered by a generation of fans.
On the women’s tour then came the Steffi Graf vs. Monica Seles and Boris Becker vs. Stefan Edberg era at Wimbledon and likewise the all-American matchups between Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras shared the limelight of rivalry.
For the past 20 years, men’s tour has been dominated by a trio comprising Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – who jointly make Big 3 of tennis – and their captivating clashes at the end of the tourneys have stirred the emotions and ignited a competition that has elevated the appeal of men’s tennis as sport.
In parallel with men’s golden era of tennis, women’s game has lacked similar vibrant rivalries, yet the WTA #1 Swiatek and #2 Aryna Sabalenka are doing a great job to spark off a refreshed interest with their breathtaking duels on the women’s side of tour.
Swiatek-Sabalenka final in the Madrid Open was the best tennis match of 2024 and Robson is confident this is just the start of a rivalry.
“The final in Madrid is my favorite women’s match of the year so far and I’m sure most people would agree with that,” Robson told Tennis365 at a Eurosport and discovery+ event.
“The conditions for their second final in Rome suited Iga much more as it was slower and the ball didn’t fly as much.
“Now we are looking at similar conditions in Paris to Rome, so it is hard to back against Iga being by far the No 1 favorite.
“There is no doubt that Sabalenka can test her, but Iga handles the expectations so well and she seems to enjoy pressure of being the one to beat.
“We want to see rivalries like this in women’s tennis and hopefully this will be a final we see time and again over the next few years.”
Swiatek and Sabalenka are the top favourites to reach the championship match at French Open, with Robson backing the Roland Garros runner-up to step on the finish line this time round.
“I’m not sure we can consider the US Open champion as a dark horse in the women’s draw, but I’m looking to Coco Gauff to have a good tournament at Roland Garros,” added Robson.
“I feel like she has more time on her forehand side on clay versus other surfaces.
“The conditions in Paris really suit her, as it will get a bit livelier and should get some free points on her serve.
“She is struggling with doubles faults a little, but we have seen how she can handle the pressure in big matches and that means she will always be a threat.”
Meanwhile, Robson’s fellow Eurosport expert and 8-time major champion Mats Wilander has equated the Pole to Roland Garros legend Rafael Nadal, as the Swede backed the 4-time Grand Slam champion to expand her tally with three more titles at the Paris major.
“Some days, some matches, you can see that she has certain limitations, but it has to be conditions that are terrible for her, and there are very few tournaments that are completely terrible for her,” said Wilander.
“There are very, very few players that are terrible for her, so I think that the confidence that she’s growing, winning all these clay court tournaments and taking one, two, three steps away from Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina and all the other women that are behind I think that’s going to really help her on other surfaces.
“To beat Iga on clay, because it’s a women’s tournament and it’s two out of three sets, is tough.
“She could run into Aryna Sabalenka, who will have an unbelievable one hour of tennis and suddenly Iga is down a set and maybe a break 4/2 and now you’re 10 minutes away from losing, even though you’re not playing bad. But there is a very, very, very small chance that that’s going to happen.
“I think Iga is as big a favorite this year as Rafa has been over all these years. Iga I think is going to win at least seven or eight Roland-Garros if she stays healthy.”