“She’s been dominant in the majors” : Aryna Sabalenka emerges as clear Roland Garros favourite in Querrey & Johnson view

Former American players Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson chose their favourites for the women’s title at Roland Garros. While on the men’s side attention has been focused on Jannik Sinner, in the women’s draw things seem a bit more open, with several names in contention.

The latest to join that group was Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who showed she has the level to beat anyone on slow surfaces, after being crowned champion at the Rome Open. Along the way she defeated Elena Rybakina (quarterfinals), Iga Swiatek (semifinals) and Coco Gauff (final), precisely three names that appear as favourites for the second Grand Slam of the year.

There is also, without doubt, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who has still not managed to win a Grand Slam outside hard courts, and a year ago came very close to achieving it in Paris. However, she ultimately ended up losing the final after a comeback from Gauff, who came back from a set down to take the victory.

However, the form of Iga Swiatek generated debate between both players. The four-time French Open champion is not arriving in her best moment, but her impeccable 40–3 record at the tournament and her multiple successes on clay courts give her an extra edge in her ideal scenario.

Speaking about the contenders, Johnson stated that this year’s Roland Garros women’s draw is much more open, considering up to 10 potential players who could lift the trophy.

“I think it’s more wide open after this week than it was a week prior, just because none of the top couple players really put their foot on the gas and took control of this event,” Querrey said in Nothing Major podcast after Svitolina’s title in Rome. “That also is a great sign for Roland Garros because there’s so much intrigue.”

“There’s going to be so much draw-watching—players have matchups they like, players they want to avoid. You’ve got, I think, 10 women who could genuinely be considered title contenders. You could look at it right now and say, ‘I could see them holding the trophy at the end of Roland Garros.’”

In any case, both Johnson and Querrey agreed that Sabalenka is the main name. A clear favourite for the title—despite arriving at the tournament without clay-court titles, after early eliminations in Madrid (quarterfinals) and Rome (third round).

“Sabalenka didn’t back into this title—she went out and took it. Rybakina, Swiatek, Gauff—like you said, probably second, third, and fourth favourites at Roland Garros. But they’re all still climbing to get to Sabalenka if she’s healthy,” he added. “She’ll have that extra week off because she lost early in Rome, which is going to be no big deal for her. She’s been dominant in the majors.”

Sabalenka’s best results at Roland Garros include the 2025 final and the 2023 semifinals. The Belarusian has reached the final in 8 of the last 12 Grand Slams she has played (and three additional semifinals).

She has been by far the most consistent player on tour across all surfaces, and she came very close to winning Roland Garros a year ago, when she defeated three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, but ultimately fell to Coco Gauff in the final.

For Querrey, there are several players inside the top 10 arriving with chances—including players who have had strong clay-court campaigns in recent months, including WTA 1000 champions on the surface: Kostyuk in Madrid and Svitolina in Rome.

“And then you have like Pegula wins in Charleston, and then you had Rybakina to win Stuttgart. You had Kostyuk win Madrid and you’ve got Svitolina winning here (in Rome),” the former world No. 11 added. “I feel like Coco up until Miami wasn’t having a great year for sure. And then the run in Miami and now Coco played great making the finals here.”

“If Coco has just as good a chance to win Roland Garros as any one of those group of 10 women. And I feel like she’s not, I honestly feel like Coco’s not playing great. No? And that’s what makes her incredible.”