Aryna Sabalenka has been in good form this season. She has already reached six finals this season, but Sabalenka has managed to win titles only three times. The biggest disappointment among them was her failure to defend her AO title against America’s Madison Keys. However, now with the second major tournament knocking at the door, she will surely be looking forward to fancying her chances on the Parisian clay. Especially after already securing a title triumph in Madrid a few weeks ago. Following her victory at the Madrid Open, Sabalenka said, “I’ve been working really hard and improving on bringing variety into my game, I think that’s the biggest key in most of the matches right now.” She believes she’s now “stronger than ever physically and mentally” and hopes to carry forward this run on clay. Although Sabalenka faced a defeat at the hands of Qinwen Zheng in the QF of the Italian Open, she has a good chance of getting back to winning ways by securing a victory against a lesser-known opponent in the 2025 French Open. Who is her opponent, and what is her reaction to facing the ‘Tigress’ so early in the tournament?

Well, the 2025 Roland Garros draw is out, and Aryna Sabalenka is all set to face the 23-year-old Russian player Kamilla Rakhimova. Rakhimova is currently ranked 75th in the world, and she’ll be entering this contest following her R16 defeat to Camila Osorio at the Morocco Open. What was her reaction after seeing this drawing? Well, renowned journalist Bastien Fachan captured her reaction perfectly through a screenshot, which he later shared on his social media platform. Fachan texted her, “OMG the draw 🙈” and to this her reply was, “Haha don’t tell me who I play. I don’t wanna know yet. Too early )“

Rakhimova has met Sabalenka twice in her career so far, and she has been defeated on each of those occasions. In fact, this will be their second meeting on Parisian clay. Before this, Sabalenka had defeated her in the third round of the French Open in 2023 by 6-2,6-2. Although the Russian managed to win a set in their next encounter in Washington, it seems she still has a lot of fear when it comes to facing the ‘Tigress‘,

If Sabalenka wins this match against Rakhimova (definitely she should), then in the next round she could face the Swiss, Jil Teichmann. Following that comes the bigger challenges, as Sabalenka could well cross paths with the ‘Danimal,’ Danielle Collins. They have met each other seven times in their career and Sabalenka has got the better of the American in each of those occasions. But considering their similar aggressive nature of play, this match will surely offer a lot of entertainment for the fans. Who’s up next after Collins?

If Aryna Sabalenka manages to reach the fourth round, then she could face another American for yet another epic battle. The 23-year-old Amanda Anisimova has already proved her mettle this year by winning the Qatar Open. After that, she even reached the SF of the Charleston Open this year. She has met Sabalenka seven times in her career, and guess what? She has a 5-2 record against the number one! Interestingly, at the 2019 French Open, she even defeated Sabalenka in straight sets (6-4,6-2). So, Anisimova is a real threat!

Suppose she manages to overcome this threat successfully, then Sabalenka could face Qinwen Zheng in the QF. Before the 2025 Italian Open, the Chinese had never won against Aryna Sabalenka. But recently toppled the Belarusian star by 6-4,6-3 in the QF in Rome. Who’ll win this battle of Top 10s?

Whoever wins this contest will face the four-time champion, Iga Swiatek, in the semis. Sabalenka currently trails Swiatek by 4-8, but having said that, the Pole hasn’t been in great form this season. So, this opens up the doors for other players like Sabalenka and Gauff.

If she manages to beat Swiatek in the SF, then Sabalenka will cross paths with either Coco Gauff or Mirra Andreeva. She is currently on level terms (5-5) with Gauff, but against Andreeva, she has a more favorable record (4-2). Beating Swiatek in the SF will be the biggest challenge for Sabalenka. Can she manage to successfully do that on Swiatek’s favorite surface? Let’s find out what the experts have to say on this duel.

Former WTA pro gives her verdict on who’s leading the race in Paris between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek

We’ve seen quite a few epic rivalries in the tennis world over the past few years, be it the rivalry of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on the women’s side or be it the rivalry among the ‘Big 3’ in men’s tennis. Recently, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have joined hands to share the stage when it comes to big events. Similarly, in the current era, the rivalry between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek has been the talk of the town in women’s tennis. Talking about this rivalry, Sabalenka once admitted, “I think that’s amazing, the rivalry we are having with Iga. She definitely motivates me a lot to get better, and I think I improved so many things just because of her.“

Swiatek has won five Grand Slam titles in her career, and four of them came on the Parisian clay. On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka has three major titles, and all three of them have come on hard courts. Her best record at the French Open was reaching the semifinals in 2023. Last year, she was knocked out in the QF by Mirra Andreeva. Thankfully for the Belarusian, she has no chance of facing this teenage sensation before the final this year.

But who between Swiatek and Sabalenka has the edge this time at the French Open? According to Laura Robson, “I think it’s very different this year. Because in previous years, Iga has gone into Roland-Garros as the absolute favorite and has had a lot of expectations of herself and from everyone around her, around the game. So I think this year is a noticeable change in that, for me, and a lot of other people, she’s not the favorite anymore, and you probably put Sabalenka in pole position at the moment.“

Iga Swiatek has been dominant on clay since 2022, but this season failed to make a final. In fact, she has failed to win any title since her emphatic triumph at last year’s Roland Garros. Who do you think has a better chance this among Swiatek and Sabalenka?