Aryna Sabalenka did the unthinkable on Thursday, ended Iga Swiatek’s 26-match French Open winning streak, and secured her first-ever final appearance at Roland Garros. In a thrilling semifinal that swung like a pendulum, the world No. 1 came out on top 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-0. And yes, you read that right, Swiatek got bageled at the French Open. With the win, Sabalenka stopped Swiatek from etching her name in the history books as the first woman to claim four consecutive French Open titles since the sport turned professional in 1968. For the 23-year-old Pole, losing at Roland Garros is unfamiliar territory. So what’s next?
Statistically, Swiatek entered the match with plenty of reasons to feel confident. She had a 5-1 head-to-head record over Sabalenka on clay and had reigned supreme in Paris. Her only loss before Thursday had been against Maria Sakkari in the 2021 quarterfinals. But this was also the first season in years that she came into the French Open without a clay-court title to her name.
Throughout the semifinal, Iga Swiatek showed flashes of brilliance with 29 winners. But those moments were undermined by 35 unforced errors, many at critical points. The start of the third set proved to be the tipping point. At 15-all on Sabalenka’s serve in the first game, Swiatek missed a routine shot. That game went to the Belarusian, and the next, despite Swiatek being up 30-15, slipped away too. From there, Sabalenka took over completely, dismantling the Pole’s rhythm and reeling off six games in a row to hand the world No. 5 a rare bagel.
Reflecting on the result, Swiatek told the media, “It wasn’t a bad tournament, but obviously, yeah, as you said, not the result I wanted.” Addressing the final-set collapse, she said, “I think I lost my intensity a bit, and she just played, you know, like pretty strong as in first set, but I didn’t react to that well and just couldn’t push back, you know.”
So where does Iga Swiatek go from here? She’s already planning a pivot to grass, a surface she’s admitted is tougher to adjust to. In her post-match presser, she said, “I’m going to have few days off, but the coaches will plan that. Hopefully we’re going to have some decent kind of little preseason on grass, because it’s always been pretty hard to have that, especially when I want to be a little bit home. But I don’t feel like I need to be home right now, so maybe I’ll go somewhere in Europe, practice.”
Swiatek ready for what’s next.
“I’m going to have few days off, but the coaches will plan that. Hopefully we’re going to have some decent kind of little preseason on grass, because it’s always been pretty hard to have that, especially when I want to be a little bit home. But I…
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) June 5, 2025
The post “Couldn’t Push Back,” Iga Swiatek Breaks Down Bagel Shock Against Aryna Sabalenka After French Open Exit appeared first on EssentiallySports.
