The two-time Slam champion kicks off with confidence in Paris
©Nicolas Gouhier / FFTAryna Sabalenka’s seventh Roland-Garros appearance kicked off with a stellar performance on Tuesday in Paris. The world No.2 eased past 100th-ranked qualifier Erika Andreeva 6-1, 6-2 in 68 minutes to book her spot in the second round.
Find out more about Sabalenka’s sparkling Day 3 performance:
Sabalenka’s victory extends her Grand Slam winning streak to eight matches. The No.2 seed has taken the first step towards becoming the first woman to win the Australian Open and Roland-Garros in the same season since Serena Williams achieved the feat in 2015.
Overall, Sabalenka improves to 67-23 at the majors, and 13-6 on the Parisian clay. She will face either Uchijima Moyuka or Irene Burillo Escorihuela in the next round.
Sabalenka may have a reputation for all-out power, and deservedly so, but she is clearly developing her feel for the nuance of the clay game with each passing year. The 26-year-old used every shot in the book as she set the tone in the first few games of the match. She served-and-volleyed on several occasions, worked her way to the net behind pinpoint approach shots, and employed well-executed drop shots to keep Andreeva on the back foot from the onset.
It is this kind of progress on the terre battue that has made Sabalenka a top favourite to challenge three-time champion Iga Swiatek for the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen this year.
“In practice I do it very well,” Sabalenka said on court after the match. “But I wasn’t sure that I can do it on the match court. Now I started using it in the matches – it didn’t work well before but now it has started working finally, after so many years of practising my touch game.”
Sabalenka went to the net 17 times in the match, winning 11 of the points. She hit nine volleys at net, and also played a total of eight drop shots and three lobs.
Last time we saw the two-time Grand Slam champion in Paris, she had just lost a heartbreaking semi-final to Karolina Muchova, watching a match point go by the wayside as she fell 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-5.
Being well-schooled at overcoming adversity in recent years, Sabalenka immediately saw the defeat in a positive light.
“Of course you're always facing some challenges, and I definitely have to learn something from this match and come back stronger,” she said at the time. “I don't look at this tournament as a negative tournament. I think I did great improvement on the clay court, and it's my best result here.
“I'm trying to stay positive no matter what happened on court – anyway, whatever, I'll come back stronger.”
Tuesday's victory on Chatrier will help Sabalenka erase any of the memories that might have been lingering.
Sabalenka has become a mainstay at the majors since 2022, and enters this year’s draw having reached at least the semi-finals of her last six Grand Slams. She has gone 36-4 at the majors since the start of the 2022 US Open.
Last year Sabalenka reached her maiden semi-final at Roland-Garros, and she hopes to take it further in 2024, even if the conditions in Paris are some of the most challenging she faces on tour.
“I’m trying to do well on clay,” she said. “It’s tough conditions but I really enjoy playing here. I’m just trying to bring my best tennis every time, doesn’t matter if it’s hard court, clay court or grass court, I’m just trying to show my best.”
Sabalenka improves to 12-3 on the season on clay, and 26-6 on the surface since the start of the 2023 season.
In Australia, where Sabalenka won her second Grand Slam title in January, the 26-year-old took to scribbling her signature on her fitness trainer Jason Stacy’s head with a Sharpie before each match.
Anything for the win, is what Stacy told her.
Here at Roland-Garros, Stacy and Sabalenka are at it again. Cameras caught images of Sabalenka’s handiwork during the contest.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
