Iga Swiatek’s French Open legacy: A look at her four dominant titles

Iga Swiatek arrives at Roland Garros in a moment of doubt, but it could be the ideal stage to give her season a boost and win a title again. For now, the Pole has four titles at the French Open – the last three consecutively – and we review the rivals she defeated in each of the finals.

She will arrive with a world No. 5 ranking – after falling out of the top 2 for the first time in over 3 years. Swiatek has a remarkable 35-2 record at the tournament and 69-8 in sets. She has only two losses in six appearances at the tournament, and only in four of her victories has she had to go to a third set.

The 2020 Roland Garros was the tournament that marked Swiatek's great leap into the headlines of the WTA Tour. At just 19 years old, she won her first Grand Slam title without being ranked in the top 50. An absolute surprise for a player who had already reached the fourth round at the French Open in her debut but hadn't yet found much consistency.

The Pole had reached the final by defeating rivals such as Marketa Vondrousova (15th), former Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard, and the first seed Simona Halep, avenging her fourth-round defeat a year earlier. In the final, she faced Sofia Kenin, who had won her first Grand Slam title earlier in the year at the Australian Open. However, the American could do little against an incredible Swiatek, who swept her aside 6-4, 6-1, finishing the tournament without dropping a set and losing just 28 games (an average of 4 per match).

It was the first time Swiatek arrived at a Grand Slam as world No. 1, with the mission of improving her 2021 result, in which she had fallen to Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals – one of only two losses she has had at Roland Garros. Swiatek showed her favoritism in the tournament and faced practically no problems in any match. She only dropped one set in the tournament (4th round against Zheng Qinwen) but ended up regaining her level and taking the victory 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-2.

After overcoming Jessica Pegula (11th) and Daria Kasatkina (20th), Iga faced the 18-year-old Coco Gauff (18th), who was making her first appearance in a major final. Swiatek asserted her favoritism and secured a comfortable victory 6-1, 6-3, guaranteeing her second Grand Slam title in the midst of a historic year, and reaching a streak of 33 consecutive wins after defeating the American (6 titles in a row).

Once again, Swiatek was the world No. 1 and the main favorite for the title, having another dream tournament. During the first 4 rounds, she only conceded 9 games (2.25 games per match). Without major problems, she left behind Coco Gauff (6th) in the quarterfinals (6-4, 6-2), and then overcame an inspired Beatriz Haddad Maia (14th), who managed to take her to a hard-fought tie-break, but it wasn't enough, with the Pole taking the victory 6-2, 7-6.

She reached the final without dropping a set and probably a much bigger favorite than in her previous Grand Slam titles. She met the talented Czech Karolina Muchova, a player who hadn't quite found consistency, although she had had a dream couple of weeks, defeating Aryna Sabalenka in an epic semifinal (7-6, 6-7, 7-5).

Muchova has been Swiatek's biggest challenge in a Grand Slam final to date, taking her to three sets and seriously jeopardizing the Pole's dominance at Roland Garros. However, Swiatek showed her usual cold-bloodedness in the important moments and ended up taking her third French Open title 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. It was the only set she dropped in the tournament.

There were few doubts in 2024 about Swiatek's favoritism, already established as the Queen of Clay and after winning the titles in the Madrid Open and Rome Open consecutively – both times defeating the then world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka. However, she had a major scare in the second round when she dropped a set against Naomi Osaka and even saved a match point against her. The match, which ended 7-6(1), 1-6, 7-5, probably gave her an extra boost in her ambitions, as no one could trouble her afterwards.

The Pole faced tough opponents along the way, including a victory against No. 5 Marketa Vondrousova (Wimbledon champion a year earlier) 6-0, 6-2 and again Coco Gauff (No. 3), this time in the semifinals 6-2, 6-4.

The final featured an unexpected opponent in Jasmine Paolini, who had eliminated Rybakina and Andreeva en route. The 12th seed was reaching her first Grand Slam final, but she could do little against Swiatek's supremacy at Roland Garros. The Pole secured her fourth French Open title – third in a row. The only players to achieve three consecutive Roland Garros titles had been Monica Seles (1990-1992) and Justine Henin (2005-2007). This year, Swiatek has the opportunity to become the only player in history to win four consecutive Roland Garros titles.