World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has sent a clear message to Iga Świątek ahead of their highly-anticipated French Open semifinal clash. The Belarusian’s comments came after defeating World No. 8 Zheng Qinwen in the quarterfinals.
During her interview, Sabalenka acknowledged her semifinal fixture as a big challenge that awaits her but showed no signs of backing down.
Aryna Sabalenka on the Challenge of Facing Iga Świątek
Aryna Sabalenka entered the French Open as the top seed and started her campaign with a 6-1, 6-0 drubbing of Kamilla Rakhimova. She then registered further straight-set wins over Jil Teichmann, Olga Danilovic, and 16th seed Amanda Anisimova to book her place in the quarterfinals. Here, she faced eighth seed Zheng Qinwen and beat her 7-6(3), 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the French Open.
After beating the Chinese, Sabalenka spoke to Tennis Channel about her upcoming semifinal against Iga Świątek, who beat Elina Svitolina 6-1, 7-5 to book her place in the final four.
Sabalenka spoke of her past battles with Świątek and lauded the Pole’s clay-court game while also stating that she was prepared to give her all and try to win the match.
“Yeah, it’s always been great battles against her and I think especially on clay court, when she has a bit extra time. Physically, she’s like really really strong, she’s moving really well, so I think that’s the biggest challenge is to work for every point. Like, sometimes you have to work really hard to get each point against her, so she’s always been challenging and I’m excited to face her and yeah, I’m ready to go and I’m ready to fight and I’m ready to do everything that I have to do to get the win”
Aryna Sabalenka and iga Świątek have previously locked horns on 12 occasions, with the latter having an 8-4 head-to-head lead.
A Look at the Clay-Court Encounters Between Iga Świątek and Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Świątek have faced one another six times on clay, with the Pole winning all but one of those matches. The first time the two locked horns on the surface was in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart in 2022, with Świątek winning 6-2, 6-2. That year, they also met in the semifinals of the Italian Open, and the Pole won 6-2, 6-1.
The following year, the two players squared off in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for the second year on the trot, with Świątek winning 6-3, 6-4. Just weeks later, they locked horns in the title clash of the Madrid Open, and this time, Sabalenka registered what is her only win over her rival on clay, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Last year, the two met in the finals of the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, with Świątek winning both matches. The title clash in the Spanish capital was one of the best matches of the 2024 season, and the Pole narrowly won it 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7).
