Aryna Sabalenka downs Iga Swiatek, reaches maiden French Open final
What's the story
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka reached the 2025 French Open final after beating defending champion Iga Swiatek.
The Belarusian star claimed a 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0 victory in the women's singles semi-final. She showed her agility after losing the second set.
It is worth noting that Sabalenka has snapped the 26-match winning streak of Swiatek at Roland Garros. She won the last three editions.
Stats
A look at match stats
Sabalenka won a total of 62 points and 20 winners throughout the match. She served three aces compared to Swiatek's one.
The former had a win percentage of 47 and 65 in the first and second serves, respectively. She converted eight of her 10 break points.
Notably, Swiatek had more unforced errors (42) than Sabalenka (25). The former registered four double-faults.
First set
Story of first set
The opening set's first half saw Sabalenka dominate the battle. She earned a 3-0 lead before Swiatek bounced back.
The latter broke twice after going 1-4 down. Both Sabalenka and Swiatek broke to make it 6-6 thereafter.
However, Sabalenka let Swiatek claim only one point in the tie-break. The Polish smashed a winner, but Sabalenka won 7-1 to seal the set after 75 minutes.
French Open
Sabalenka downs three-time French Open champion
Swiatek, the world number five, lifted the 2024 French Open trophy after beating Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.
With a 6-2, 6-1 win, Swiatek claimed her third successive Roland Garros title and a fourth overall at this Slam.
The 23-year-old had won 26 consecutive RG matches before losing to Sabalenka. She leaves with a 40-3 record at the clay-court major.
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Deadlock broken!
As per Opta, Swiatek finally lost a French Open match a total of 1,457 days. She last lost a Roland Garros match on June 9, 2021. Her 26-match winning streak (women's singles) is the second-longest at Roland Garros in the Open Era.
Feats
Successive Grand Slam finals
According to Opta, Sabalenka is the first player to reach three successive women's singles Grand Slam finals since Serena Williams in 2016.
The former won the 2024 US Open before finishing as the 2025 Australian Open runner-up.
Sabalenka is also the third woman (in the 21st century) to reach multiple Grand Slam finals for three-plus consecutive years, joining Venus Williams (2000-2003) and Serena (2008-2010).
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Sabalenka goes past Swiatek
Overall, Sabalenka qualified for her sixth women's singles Grand Slam final, the most in this decade, as per Opta. She overtook Swiatek, who has reached five finals in this regard.
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Fifth win over Swiatek
It is worth noting that Sabalenka claimed her fifth career win over Swiatek on the WTA Tour. However, the Polish still owns an 8-5 win-loss record over Sabalenka in 13 meetings.