French Open: Iga Swiatek Faces Emma Raducanu Test, Carlos Alcaraz Also in Action

Last Updated:May 28, 2025, 09:05 IST

Iga Swiatek goes up against Emma Raducanu at Roland Garros as Carlos Alcaraz is also in action at the French Open.

Iga Swiatek at the French Open (AP)

Iga Swiatek continues her pursuit of a fourth consecutive Roland Garros title against former US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Wednesday, with title contenders Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz also in action.

Swiatek, from Poland, aims to become the first woman to win four straight French Open titles since Suzanne Lenglen did so 102 years ago. Despite not reaching a WTA final since lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen last year, the 23-year-old, now ranked fifth in the world, began her campaign with a confident straight-sets win over Rebecca Sramkova.

Next, she faces Britain’s Raducanu, an opponent she knows well, having never lost a set in their four previous meetings. “We know each other’s game. I need to be intense and focus on myself," said Swiatek, who has a 36-2 win-loss record at the French Open and also won the title in 2020.

“But she won the US Open. She can play great tennis. I’ll be ready."

Raducanu, playing in the tournament for the first time since her 2022 debut, struggled with illness before her first-round win over Wang Xinyu. The last time she faced Swiatek, she lost 6-1, 6-0 in the Australian Open last 32 in January. “Exposure to top players is great for my development," Raducanu said. “It’s a match where I can test myself and go for my shots, because if I just push the ball, I’m probably going to get beaten. I need to hit the ball."

Swiatek’s drop in the WTA standings places her in the same half of the draw as world number one Aryna Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini, and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen. Sabalenka made a strong statement in the first round by losing just one game against Russian Kamilla Rakhimova and is expected to easily overcome Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann in round two. The Belarusian has never reached the French Open final and hopes to erase the memories of a painful quarter-final loss to Mirra Andreeva in 2024.

Fourth seed Paolini, who recently won the Italian Open, faces Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. Chinese star Zheng, the 2024 Olympic gold medallist at Roland Garros, plays 85th-ranked Colombian Emiliana Arango.

Reigning men’s champion Alcaraz faces Fabian Marozsan of Hungary for a spot in the third round on Chatrier. The four-time Grand Slam winner has found form on clay, winning the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open, and reaching the Barcelona Open final. World number 56 Marozsan has a memorable clay-court win over Alcaraz from Rome two years ago. “I study my opponents a little bit. I know Fabian likes to hit drop shots," said second seed Alcaraz. “So I’ll focus on that. It’s going to be a drop-shot battle, I guess."

Norwegian seventh seed Casper Ruud, twice a French Open runner-up in 2022 and 2023, plays Portugal’s Nuno Borges on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Denmark’s Holger Rune, the only man to beat Alcaraz on clay this year in the Barcelona final, faces American wild card Emilio Nava. Lorenzo Musetti, who has reached the semi-finals in all three Masters 1000 events on clay in 2023, takes on Colombian lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan.

(With inputs from AFP)

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Paris, France

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News sports French Open: Iga Swiatek Faces Emma Raducanu Test, Carlos Alcaraz Also in Action