Previewing Roland Garros Womens Singles begins with the defending champion world number one Iga Swiatek.
Iga has defended her ascendancy over the rest very well, but she has had pressure from two sources - the Australian Open finalists.
On clay, though, it would be difficult to bet against Swiatek taking home a third RG trophy, and fourth Grand Slam title.
Losing the Rome quarter final was disappointing, but it was injury that ended the match, so assuming a full recovery, it’s not a concern for Paris.
The draw, if realised on court, will bring some great contests for the crowds.
Round of sixteen suggests a clash between Swiatek and former Roland Garros champ Barbora Krejcikova (13).
Krejcikova won the Dubai tournament in February where she defeated along the way AO champ Sabalenka and top five player Pegula.
Krejcikova beat Swiatek in that final.
Quarter final opponent in the draw for Swiatek is the opponent she vanquished in last years final, CoCo Gauff (6).
Apart from her tournament win in Auckland in January, CoCo has had an average year, and would surprise if she even reached the quarters.
Veronika Kudermetova (11), semi finalist in Rome, and Anhelina Kalinina (25), finalist in Rome have chances.
The semi final expected is Swiatek v Elena Rybakina
Rybakina defeated Swiatek in the AO round of sixteen, and also the semi finals of Indian Wells.
The pair were at a set all when Swiatek retired in the Rome quarter final.
Rybakina’s favourite surface is not clay, but she did win the Rome event, her year has been outstanding, and she doesn’t fear Swiatek.
Aryna Sabalenka is player of the year so far. Australian Open champion, and winner in Madrid and Adelaide, she has also been a finalist in Indian Wells and Stuttgart.
She and Swiatek have one win each in matches between the pair this year, both in finals.
Swiatek has to score 300 more points than Sabalenka in Paris to retain the number one ranking.
Sabalenka should win through to her quarter final based on talent and form, disregarding her early exit in Rome.
If Caroline Garcia (5) makes the quarters, she will meet Sabalenka and will need to improve if she hopes to delight her home crowd further.
Garcia has only won five matches since March.
Unseeded Elina Svitolina just won in Strasbourg is in that section as well as former RG winner 17th seed Jelena Ostapenko and 9th seed Daria Kasatkina.(semi finalist last year, beaten by eventual winner Swiatek)
Rybakina has Petra Kvitova (10) and Ons Jabeur (7) as seeds in her quarter of the draw.
Jabeur has a dangerous opponent first up - Lucia Bronzetti just won her first tournament in Morocco.
Jessica Pegula is drawn to play Sabalenka in the semis, but her form is also slightly a worry, losing first up in Rome to a qualifier.
Watch out for Liudmila Samsonova (15) and Anastasia Potapova (24), both in the Pegula section.
If Pegula makes the quarters as she did last year, she will meet someone from the Sakkari section.
Maria Sakkari has made four semi finals this year so not quite been threatenening in tournaments. The eighth seed has a poor. Roland Garros record apart from a semi final in 2021.
12th seed Belinda Bencic has a terrible RG record also, so there may be a surprise from this section, perhaps Leylah Fernandez (quarter finalist last year) or Irina-Camelia Begu (27).
My prediction:
Quarter finals:
Iga Swiatek (1) to defeat Veronika Kudermetova (11)
Elena Rybakina (4) to defeat Petra Kvitova (10)
Jessica Pegula (3) to defeat Maria Sakkari (8)
Aryna Sabalenka (2) to defeat Jelena Ostapenko (17)
Semi finals:
Elena Rybakina (4) to defeat Iga Swiatek (1)
Aryna Sabalenka (2) to defeat Jessica Pegula (3)
Final:
Elena Rybakina (4) to defeat Aryna Sabalenka (2)
