The World No. 1 has finally broken through to her first Roland Garros final! After missing out in 2023, Aryna Sabalenka has made her maiden appearance among the last two standing. She took down the defending champion in a merciless display, leaving Iga Swiatek with her first loss at the tournament since 2022. But as she reminded everyone in her post-match interview, “The job is not done yet.” Her next opponent? The winner between 2022 runner-up Coco Gauff and the wildcard sensation, Lois Boisson! Does Sabalenka have a preference?

Well, she isn’t shy about sharing her thoughts! When asked about watching her possible next opponent’s semifinal, the Belarusian said, “I’ll let my team watch it today and tomorrow we’re gonna watch it together. Depends who’s going to win the match. But yeah, it’s another great semifinal, so enjoy guys. I’m pretty sure you’re going to be cheering for one person like crazy and I’m not sure if I really want her to win.” Smart move, right?

Albeit she doesn’t say it out loud, even Sabalenka, who’s been absolutely unstoppable on clay this year, steamrolling every opponent in straight sets, including No. 16 Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round and No. 8 Qinwen Zheng in the quarters, has reason to sweat. Why? Because the rising French sensation has been on fire, knocking out top players left and right on her way to the semis!

Playing her very first French Open, Boisson is now eyeing a third straight top-10 scalp at Roland Garros. She’s aiming to pull off a stunner against world No. 2 Coco Gauff in Thursday’s semi-final showdown. The Paris crowd is buzzing after Boisson’s electric win over Mirra Andreeva in a nail-biting quarter-final, keeping her fairy-tale run alive and setting up a blockbuster clash with the second seed.

Meanwhile, Gauff showed nerves of steel to snap Madison Keys’s Grand Slam streak and book her third career semi-final in the French capital. With both players riding high, perhaps Aryna’s got plenty to think about—who wouldn’t be a little nervous with this much at stake?

Will Sabalenka’s prediction come true as she awaits the result of the next match? Only time will tell!

The Belarusian has been a force of nature at Roland Garros this year. With her latest victory, Aryna Sabalenka joins Elena Rybakina as the only players to have beaten Iga Swiatek on clay twice—a huge feat considering Swiatek’s dominance on the surface.

The world No. 1 stormed into her first French Open final by winning her fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal, 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0, in a match where the sound of her shots echoed under the closed roof of a rainy Court Philippe Chatrier. She truly showed just why she’s the World No.1. However, when the stakes are high, that tag means very little to her!

Aryna Sabalenka opens up about being No.1

Following her opening match against Kamilla Rakhimova, where she breezed through 6-1, 6-0 in just about an hour, Sabalenka was asked if she felt the pressure of being World No. 1. She shrugged it off with a smile, saying, “Honestly, I don’t think about that. Of course, it’s always been my goal to reach the World No. 1 position. But, at this stage of my career, it doesn’t really matter. You just have to focus on yourself. You have to improve your game and get better, basically, every day.”

Her consistent run over the past few years has truly cemented Sabalenka’s spot at the top of the WTA rankings. With 10,683 ranking points, she holds a massive lead over Coco Gauff, who sits in second place with 6,863 points. That’s a gap that looks tough for anyone to close anytime soon.

Aryna is also the favorite to lift this year’s French Open trophy. Even Serena Williams’ childhood coach is backing her, tweeting, “On paper Sabalenka is the favorite. Seeding wise Sabalenka is the favorite. Power wise Sabalenka is the favorite. Past 2 months Sabalenka is the favorite. Iga was my pick even when everybody said toasted and a pretender but she is in the semis and a real contender.” That confidence is well-earned, especially now considering Sabalenka just took down the defending champion and ‘Queen of Clay’—ending Swiatek’s three-year reign in Paris.

Still, neither Coco nor Lois will be easy in the final. Aryna Sabalenka and Gauff are tied 5-5 in their head-to-head, with Sabalenka winning their last clash at the Madrid Open final, but Coco also beat her at the WTA Finals in Riyadh when the stakes were high. And Boisson? She’s the wildcard shaking up the draw, a brand-new challenge for everyone. Who will Sabalenka face in the final? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!