The WTA Rome 1000 was the first time in 11 years that three of the top four ranked women reached the semifinal of a WTA event.
Iga Swiatek is one of those women and she’ll look for her third consecutive French Open title when the second Grand Slam on the calendar begins on Sunday, May 26.
Join me as I preview the favorites, sleepers, and more for the 2024 French Open Women’s Singles event, beginning Sunday, May 26.
Bet Rivers French Open Championship Odds
According to our friends at Bet Rivers, Swiatek is an “unprecedented” -150 betting favorite to win her third consecutive French Open title.
Swiatek difficult draw
Swiatek is having another banner season on the dirt; she’s won 12 consecutive matches with championships in Madrid and Rome.
The hottest player on tour not named Danielle Collins doesn’t have the easiest path to her third consecutive French Open title. She could face former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka in the second round…and then it gets tough.
Maria Bouzkova or No. 29 seed Veronika Kudermetova could await in the third round with No. 5 seed Marketa Vondrousova or the red-hot No. 11 seed Danielle Collins in the quarters, with a potential semifinal encounter with No. 3 seed Coco Gauff.
Interesting sleepers in Swiatek’s quarter include;
- Danielle Collins: Aryna Sabalenka is the only player to defeat the big-hitting Collins since Miami. The 31-year-old American is 22-2 since Miami and can beat anyone in the field.
- Marketa Vondrousova: the reigning Wimbledon champ is a dangerous player on any surface but has struggled to a 5-3 record on the dirt. She has a terrific draw and could make a deep run but she’ll need to beat Collins for a shot at the Polish No. 1.
Gauff looks to get back on track
No. 3 seed Coco Gauff reached the semis in Rome but is 7-3 without a title on the dirt and hasn’t won a big match since her January title in Aukland. Her semifinal result was encouraging she’s not playing her best tennis heading into Roland Garros.
She has a sweet draw until the semis, where she would look to improve upon her 1-10 lifetime mark against Swiatek.
Interesting sleepers in Gauff’s section include;
- Beatriz Haddad Maia: the No. 13 seed and 2023 semifinalist boasts a 12-6 French Open mark but is only 5-3 on the clay in 2024.
- Caroline Garcia: the French No. 1 has never fared well here (17-14) but has a decent draw and will have the full support of the Parisian fans.
- Jelena Ostapenko: Clay has never been her best surface but she did reach the fourth round in Rome with a lifetime mark of 11-8 on the terre battue.
Rybakina with good draw
Rybakina resides in the bottom half of the draw sheet. She missed Rome citing illness, but is the only woman to defeat Swiatek on clay in 2024 and one of the top clay-court players in the world.
She couldn’t ask for a better draw. Rybakina has a straight shot to the quarters where she could meet Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng.
Interesting sleepers in Rybakina’s quarter include;
- Alize Cornet: Cornet is playing in her 20th and final French Open in her home country with an interesting opening matchup against Zheng. The Chinese No. 1 isn’t the best on dirt, but her draw isn’t that difficult, and the home crowd will be on her side.
- Elina Svitolina: Svitolina is another fan favorite here. Over the past 52 weeks, Svitolina boasts a strong break rate (46.7%) on this surface and should get past first-round opponent Karolina Pliskova with a straight shot to a potential quarter with Rybakina.
Sabalenka tough draw
Sabalenka is the second-best player on the dirt this season but all the titles went to Swiatek. Swiatek defeated her in the Madrid and Rome finals and Vondrousova defeated the World No. 2 in the quarters at Stuttgart.
The big-serving Belarussian has a tricky draw and is in the same quarter as Maria Sakkari. She can defeat the Greek No. 1 but getting that far is where the tricky part enters the equation.
The reigning Australian Open champion could meet either Paula Badosa or Rouen champ Sloane Stephens as soon as the third round. A resurging Madison Keys could be her fourth-round opponent with a potential quarterfinal with Sakkari.
Interesting sleepers in Sabalenkas quarter include;
- Maria Sakkari: Sakkari reached the 2021 semis but failed to go past the second round here since. She has a tough opener against Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva and awaiting in the third round could be No. 27 seed Linda Noskova. After that, it gets hard for the Greek No. 1.
- Mirra Andreeva: The 17-year-old Russian has tendonitis issues with her arm but she is dangerous on any surface. She has a potential second-round encounter with 2013 semifinalist Victoria Azarenka, a third-round encounter with 2022 semifinalist Daria Kasatkina, and maybe 2022 semifinalist Sakkari in the fourth round.
- Daria Kasatkina: Kasatkina hasn’t done much on the dirt since reaching the Charleston finale, but she is consistent from both wings with a 74-45 lifetime mark on the dirt and 20-8 across her eight French Open appearances. She has a good draw and a straight shot to the fourth round. If she beats Sakkari, she is 2-6 lifetime against Sabalenka.
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