PARIS — For a few minutes, anyway, it seemed as if Iga Swiatek was a bit off in the French Open final against Jasmine Paolini. Swiatek kept making mistakes and got broken early to trail Saturday at Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 23-year-old from Poland is the first woman with three trophies in a row in Paris since Justine Henin from 2005 to 2007. Here's just one other indication of how dominant Swiatek is on clay: She added this triumph to those on the slow surface at Madrid and Rome last month, becoming the first woman to win all three events since Serena Williams did it in 2013.
“The best days of my life, I think,” said Paolini, who will rise to a career-best No. 7 in the WTA rankings next week. “It's been a very intense 15 days. I’m really happy and I’m proud of me and my team.” That's because Swiatek, who heard plenty of “Iga!” chants, immediately reset herself and began playing the sort of tennis that has kept her ranked No. 1 for nearly every week since April 2022. The instincts and footwork to get to almost any shot an opponent can offer. The intimidating, heavy-spin forehands. The prematch strategy and midmatch adjustments that can shift things her way.Swiatek broke at love for 2-all, capping the game with a return winner off a serve at 87 mph .