Iga Swiatek is a 2x Roland Garros champion with one of those coming last year and conditions should certainly favour her this year as well according to the Eurosport panel.
Swiatek is widely considered the number one favourite at Roland Garros but she's not the overwhelming favourite. There have been players that defeated her this year and she'll certainly be vulnerable once more. Conditions in general should benefit Swiatek most out of the top 3 contenders (Sabalenka, Swiatek and Rybakina).
Eurosport analyst Barbara Schett said:
"It's between Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina. The conditions in Paris should favour Swiatek, she feels comfortable there and is proving she is definitely playing at a high level of tennis. How she defends that No. 1 spot as well because she must be under enormous pressure. I think it’s good for Iga to have these two players [Sabalenka and Rybakina] that can challenge her and make her stay at the No. 1 spot."
Tim Henman agrees with Schett as he too thinks that she's the most likely champion:
"I love her game. She works so hard in every area. Athletically she is improving all the time and she is spending a lot of time and effort improving mentally. She has a great team, and she is playing great. On clay, she hits the ball very hard but still has margin for error and I definitely think she is the favourite." wiatek is number one by a margin, but then you have Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff who is still developing all the time. Elena Rybakina made the final, Aryna Sabalenka can play great on clay. It’s harder to predict in the women’s game and a lot of players can win Roland-Garros."
🤞🏼Quick update.A couple of days off for sure. And booking my flight to Paris, so...fingers crossed, please! Hopefully, see you soon. 🤞🏼Update.Potrzebuję na pewno kilku dni odpoczynku. Bilety do Paryża rezerwujemy, więc... trzymajcie kciuki. Mam nadzieję - do zobaczenia niedługo
