Why Iga Swiatek needs a great rival like Federer-Nadal, Chris Evert-Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf-Monica Seles
Every sport needs proper rivalries to keep the spectators captivated and interested. Arch-rivals force each other to improve on various aspects by constantly challenging them.
However, such is not the case in women’s tennis on clay at the moment. Swiatek leads the head-to-head with Sabalenka 8-3, and has won 11 of her 12 clashes with Gauff. Elena Rybakina is the only prominent rival of the Pole who leads her (4-2) in the head-to-head. In the last two years the pair have met on five occasions, with Rybakina winning four and losing one. One of those losses for Swiatek came via retirement as she was injured.
Iga Swiatek, who won her fourth French Open title and third in a row on Saturday, June 8, is on a rampage on clay. By thrashing Jasmine Paolini in the 2024 French Open final, she achieved the rare clay “treble” – winning all three big tournaments on the surface in the year. This is also her fourth title at the Paris Major in the past five editions of the tournament.
Swiatek now leads her nearest rival, World No. 2 Coco Gauff, by more than 3,500 points in the WTA rankings. Aryna Sabalenka, who was No. 2 since the start of the year, dropped one position by getting knocked out in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.While all of this might be great for the Pole, it is perhaps not so for the WTA tour overall.
