Swiatek Starts French Open Defense Strong, Rybakina Battles Through

May 26, 2025: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek launched her French Open title defense with a confident 6-3, 6-3 victory over Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova on Monday. Despite trailing 1-3 early in the first set, the Polish star recovered quickly to close out the match in straight sets, according to the WTA.

Swiatek now advances to face Emma Raducanu in the next round. The British star edged past Wang Xinyu 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in a marathon 2-hour, 44-minute encounter. Swiatek holds a dominant 4-0 head-to-head record over Raducanu, including a resounding 6-0, 6-1 win in their most recent clash at the Australian Open earlier this year.

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Meanwhile, fourth seed Elena Rybakina had to dig deep to overcome Argentine qualifier Julia Riera 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. The Kazakh star needed an hour and 45 minutes to book her spot in the second round at Roland Garros for the sixth straight year. Rybakina, a two-time French Open quarterfinalist (2021, 2024), will next face 17-year-old American wild card Iva Jovic as she looks to extend her current six-match winning streak.