Polish Fifth Seed Overcomes Disastrous Start to Triumph Over Elena Rybakina

Defending champion Iga Swiatek has battled her way into the French Open quarter-finals, overcoming a disastrous start to beat Elena Rybakina in a three-set thriller. The Polish fifth seed won only one of the opening nine games before finding form to triumph 1-6 6-3 7-5 against the 12th seed.

Swiatek’s victory marked her 25th in a row at the French Open, as she bids to win her fifth title in six years. The four-time champion at Roland Garros credited Rybakina with pushing her to her limits, saying “She really pushed me. First set, I felt like I was playing against Jannik Sinner. I needed to do something to get back into the game.”

Swiatek’s form had been questioned leading up to the tournament, but she has now reached the quarter-finals where she will face Ukrainian 13th seed Elina Svitolina. Svitolina herself produced a superb comeback to upset last year’s finalist Jasmine Paolini, saving three match points before winning the second set and taking control in the third.

In a closely contested match, Svitolina dominated with her forehand, hitting 10 winners to Paolini’s four, before a backhand down the line secured her place in the last eight for a fifth time at Roland Garros. Svitolina described the match as “a really difficult match, Jasmine was playing really well. It was tough for me but I’m happy I stayed composed, fought until the very last point and here I am in the next round.”

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka also reached the quarter-finals, defeating American Amanda Anisimova 7-5 6-3. Sabalenka’s power was on show throughout, firing down 11 aces, and she will now face Chinese eighth seed Zheng Qinwen in the next round.

The victories of Swiatek, Svitolina, and Sabalenka have set up an intriguing quarter-final stage at the French Open. With several top seeds still in contention, the competition is far from over, and tennis fans can look forward to more thrilling matches in the coming days.

Key Statistics:

Iga Swiatek’s 25th consecutive win at the French Open

Elina Svitolina’s fifth quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros

Aryna Sabalenka’s 11 aces in her win over Amanda Anisimova

Zheng Qinwen’s victory over Liudmila Samsonova to reach the quarter-finals

Quarter-Final Match-Ups:

Iga Swiatek vs. Elina Svitolina

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Zheng Qinwen

Other quarter-final matches to be determined