Iga Swiatek continues to make her way through the French Open draw in search of a fourth consecutive title.
The WTA Tour’s fifth-ranked player began her campaign with a routine 6-3, 6-3 win over Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova.
Producing an even more dominant display in round two, Swiatek beat Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-2, booking her place in the third round.
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There, she faced her toughest test of the tournament so far, as Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian pushed Swiatek close, eventually coming up short, 2-6, 5-7.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Tim Henman shared his concerns over Swiatek after watching her immediate reaction to the win.
Tim Henman says Iga Swiatek’s ‘tense’ post-match reaction proves she’s not feeling confident.
The former Wimbledon semi-finalist was keen to address Swiatek’s reaction to her win over Cristian, which he believed was ‘tense’.
“The reaction,” said Henman.
“Look, she’s won the match, but she’s such a good clay-court player. She’s won this four times; that reaction is very much symptomatic of where she’s at right now.
“There’s definite tension out on the court, perhaps not so confident with her game. When she got through, there was a big sigh of relief.”
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The Pole celebrated with a loud roar as she secured the win, advancing to the fourth round.
Former British tennis star Anne Keothavong weighed in with her thoughts, agreeing that Swiatek may have felt relieved to have beaten Cristian in straight sets.
“Jaqueline Cristian is the first person to really trouble her in a set of tennis here in Paris,” she said.
“The reaction, maybe just relief more than anything, but it’s good to see someone able to test her, because in her previous two rounds, she looked invincible.”
During her post-match interview, Swiatek didn’t look low on confidence whatsoever, as she shared just how happy she was to win on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Iga Swiatek says she’s ‘happy with her performance’ and gives her verdict on the conditions in Paris
Swiatek broke Cristian’s serve at 5-6 in the second set to secure the win and now shares her thoughts on the last game of the match.
“Well I’m just happy that I was super solid in the last game and didn’t give any free points,” she said.
“For sure, she used her chances and she went for it every time I gave her a chance, so it was a great match, pretty entertaining. We both played nice, so I’m happy that I’m through, happy with the performance.”
The 23-year-old then gave her verdict on the conditions, which were much hotter for her third-round match than they were in rounds one and two.
“For sure, I don’t mind, and on clay it gives the ball the extra bounce, but it’s about the control as well, I had to balance it,” said Swiatek.
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“It’s tricky when one day it’s like that, before it was 20 degrees, maybe less, when I played my first match, and now it’s 30 [degrees], it’s not easy to adjust to that because the balls fly differently in the air.
“But I’ve played in every condition, maybe not here because Roland Garros is usually rainy, but last year at the Olympics it was super hot like that, so I was ready for it.”
Swiatek explained the changes she made to her equipment to help adjust to the different conditions.
“It’s a must-have, if you want to swing the same way in different conditions, you need to change something, it’s not good to change the way you play, so the best way is to adjust the equipment,” she said.
“Going up with the tension is the right thing to do. I went one kilo up on both strings.”
She’ll likely have to adjust the tension again before her fourth-round match, as the conditions are expected to be much cooler on Sunday.
Iga Swiatek avoids Jelena Ostapenko rematch in the French Open fourth-round
Awaiting Swiatek in the fourth round was the winner of Jelena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina, two former Grand Slam champions.
Swiatek would have been forgiven for hoping Rybakina emerged victorious, considering her dreadful head-to-head record with Ostapenko.
Iga Swiatek and Jelena Ostapenko’s head-to-head record
The Pole has failed to beat Ostapenko in each of their six career meetings and has already lost to her twice in 2025.
Luckily for Swiatek, it’s Rybakina who she’ll play in the last 16, following the Kazakh’s dominant 6-2, 6-2 win over her Latvian opponent.
Swiatek and Rybakina’s head-to-head record is tied at 4-4, although momentum looks to be with the five-time Major champion, having won their two previous meetings.
Only time will tell who will come out on top in their ninth encounter, when Swiatek and Rybakina battle it out for a place in the quarterfinals on Sunday, June 1.