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Considering her comprehensive success on all surfaces and against all foes in recent years, Aryna Sabalenka’s solitary semi-final at Roland Garros does not reflect fully her potential at the tournament.
This year, however, she has put herself in the perfect position to make even greater progress in Paris. Sabalenka, the No 1 seed, took her first step towards a potential title run by eviscerating Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0 in the first round of the French Open.
For the first time in her career, Sabalenka begins the French Open as the tournament favourite. At the same time that the four-time champion Iga Swiatek has struggled badly with her form, Sabalenka has taken her impressive consistency to new levels. The 27-year-old now holds a 35-6 record in 2025 and she has reached the final in six of her nine tournaments this season, including titles in Miami, Madrid and Brisbane alongside her third consecutive Australian Open final.
“Honestly, I just love it so much,” Sabalenka said of her No 1 status. “Because, just for me personally, knowing that there is someone chasing me or I have a target on my back right now, I love it. I take it as a challenge. Every time I go out there, I feel like: ‘OK, let’s go. Let’s see who is ready for the pressure moments.’ I take it like that, and it’s actually helping me to stay in the moment and to fight, no matter what, on the court.”
Early in Sabalenka’s development, clay court tennis did not come naturally to her. She has since established herself as a titan on the surface, winning three titles at the Madrid Open and reaching the finals of the Italian Open and Stuttgart, the other two relevant tournaments. Her development on clay reflects her remarkable evolution as a tennis player. Having started her career with the simple goal of hitting every ball as hard and flat as she could, Sabalenka has learned how to patiently construct points and pair her immense ball speed with heavy topspin while keeping opponents guessing with well-measured drop shots and forays to the net. The added variation in her game has been invaluable on clay, which forces players to construct points with patience and foresight.
In Paris, however, misfortune has always been around the corner. Two years ago, Sabalenka held a match point at 5-2 in the third set against Karolina Muchova in their semi-final before losing five consecutive games and the match. Sabalenka then looked in imperious form last year as she eased into the quarter-finals without dropping a set. Despite fighting hard in a tight three-set defeat against Mirra Andreeva, she was derailed by a gastrointestinal illness and was visibly struggling throughout that match. “I’m definitely not going to go for the same meal I had before that quarter-finals match,” Sabalenka said, smiling. “The lesson is learned.”
There was once a time when Sabalenka could lose any match due to the high-risk, low margin nature of her ultra-aggressive game, but as she opened up the tournament under the Court Philippe-Chatrier roof on Sunday, it was clear from the beginning that she had no intention of giving her opponent a chance. Not only did Sabalenka completely overpower Rakhimova from the baseline with excellent serving and her heavy ball striking from both wings, she used the occasion to work on her drop shots and net play to prepare herself for the rest of the tournament. She closed out the match with ruthless efficiency after spending exactly an hour on court.
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Anything is possible in a grand slam tournament, particularly in the women’s draw where even the dominant players have little margin for error in the best of three sets format, but Sabalenka has made it clear over the past year that she can find a way through any challenge thrown at her. Over the next two weeks in Paris, it will almost certainly take an immense performance to knock the best player in the world off her lofty perch.
